A (Rotten) Banana
by tomatosenpai
Summary: At the peak of this particularly hot summer, a single event triggers a chain of conflict and love within Nanamori middle school. Witness the rise and fall of many intertwined pairings through portrayals of victimizing romance and despair. Still in progress! (The conclusion is here. An epilogue will soon follow.)
1. Impulse

_**A/N**_

Briefly, a few things need to be said. I've added this foreword while updating each chapter with a slightly more polished version, leading ultimately to a finished product. The word count should have you prepared for the extent of it. The M rating is for detailed sexual content and should be strongly advised, or enjoyed. Whatever the case, it's a relatively minor part of the story.

A wide range of emotional themes will be explored. My dense, comprehensive stylistic approach in writing this has only expanded during its two years of (very on and off) production. This work is unique and diverse and for that I'm quite happy, though I'll save that discussion for the afterword. Hopefully you make it there~

A note regarding my textual formatting:

"This is dialogue, being spoken aloud."

 _"This is a thought. If the entire line of dialogue is italicized, it is not physically audible."_

~ _"Note the tilde marks outside the quotations; these indicate that this line is being mentally read, imagined, or remembered by a character (such as in a flashback, for example)."_ ~

Explanations aside, I welcome you to the story! Emotions are a mixed bag throughout, but I hope you find some joy in reading it!

 **...**

* * *

 **...**

Typical days for the Amusement Club amidst the midsummer heat meant cold tea and silent suffering within this well-disguised sauna they called a club room. Three of the most social girls in school were reduced to wordless individual reading and relaxing as they sat around their table, almost panting, beads of sweat forming at every one's brow. It was hot; the hottest it had been all year for sure, and maybe even for the last few years. Contrary to the peaceful tone inside, the noisy cicadas surrounding the pond clearly indicated their contentness with the weather. They were the only ones.

Though around here, it can only remain silent for so long.

"I want ice cream!"

Before anyone even had time to process the statement, Kyouko was standing on what had been, momentarily, her naptime location. After a brief matter of seconds with no heads being raised, she turned to Yui.

Yui could sense the pouting eyes glaring into her own. Finally being torn from her book, she gave her mind a moment to reactivate and, marking her page, gently relaxed the murder mystery novel onto the table, to be resumed later. Or maybe not, she realized, seeing as it was nearly boring her to sleep just now.

"Go buy some yourself," came the typical flat comment. She didn't lift her gaze to respond, and instead attempted to pull her arms over her head and stretch. Kyouko, noting the disinterest, then turned to face her other childhood friend.

"Akari-chan, come with me!"

"Okay!" The redhead had been occupied with... Well, we aren't sure exactly. It's almost as if she was... out of frame —

So to speak.

"If you're going somewhere, you should bring back some cold drinks. We're out of barley tea." Chinatsu spoke while arising from her laid back position against the closet door, the very closet she had hidden in for hours once before... That was the most recent time she could recall being this hot and uncomfortable. She shuddered at the memory, and then again at the current reality.

"Here, take some money for the drinks," Chinatsu prodded into her bag.

"I'll cover the rest," Yui added, reaching for her own coins.

Funds in hand, the two errand runners gleefully re-equipped their shoes (and socks, in Kyouko's case) and began their journey. This, of course, left Chinatsu alone with her prince.

A neutral observer might have guessed Yui to be apprehensive about a situation such as this. Considering the yandere tendencies and unyielding affliction, it is expected that the pink-haired one would smother the target of her desire at every opportunity. Yet Funami Yui remained cool and collected, per the usual, almost as if she truly didn't realize what was about to happen.

When those two _obstructions_ had hardly made it 4 steps past the door, she made her move. A smiling Chinatsu suddenly sat inches from the face of Yui, the latter caught wildly off guard.

"Chi-... Chinatsu-chan, you're really close..." A light blush appeared, which to Yui felt like a blazing fire. She smacked herself internally.

"Whaddya reading, Yui-senpai?" Her glowing smile pervaded Yui's vision, and her head tilted ever so slightly to the side. Anybody's lips would spill out "cute!" to the sight, no matter how stoical a person they were.

"J- Just a book from the library. Nothing special."

The attacker, not easily deterred, let a natural urge perform her next course of action.

"That doesn't sound very interesting. I should keep you more entertained..." came the unprepared, yet smoothly spoken words. Then, briefly recovering a small bit of her senses, she acknowledged that her hand had come to rest on her crush's thigh. But she would not panic, nor pull away just yet. _"Where is this confidence coming from?"_ Chinatsu thought. _"Today must be my day!"_

Though, can it really be called confidence when you aren't actually _deciding_ to make a move; when you only let your impulses carry you forward? Whatever the case, it was working. Yui had let the last few minutes pass in silence. Chinatsu, realizing this, began to worry. Was Yui-senpai nervous, like her? Maybe she was just in deep thought. Or she had been offended by these actions, and was holding back anger. Anxiety began to set in. Meanwhile, after much hesitation, Yui spoke in a somber tone.

"Chinatsu-chan, do you like me? I mean, really like me?" Emphasis was placed on the correct syllables to get the intended meaning across. Her face emanated seriousness. They both knew what she was asking, and it was about more than liking. Chinatsu wanted to contemplate why her senpai would question that now, but she had no choice but to answer immediately. It seemed like the right thing to do.

"Of course I do, Yui-senpai!"

To the younger girl's surprise and dismay, the response didn't alter her expression one bit. But Yui-senpai has a great poker face, she reassured herself. You can never tell what she's actually feeling.

Meanwhile, Yui was coming to a revelation. All this time, she saw her underclassmen's affection as innocent, harmless admiration. Platonic infatuation or, at the _very most_ , a crush. But something about this moment, this moment that is likely an identical reiteration of many previous moments, seemed genuine. Maybe now she was really paying attention to the words and how they were spoken, or the head so lovingly nuzzled into her shoulder, or simply how truly happy Chinatsu was when they were together. Or perhaps, something inside her own mind was cause for change.

This thought snapped Yui back to awareness. What her eyes found were the pale turquoise pupils belonging to the subject of her thoughts, mere inches away. A tear formed in the corner of one of those round, glistening orbs.

"Yui-senpai, please don't hate me!" she cried, that same tear finding its way down a soft cheek.

Yui was lost. Why was Chinatsu crying? All she knew for sure was that it needed to stop. Verbally, she only stuttered. That was no use. But it seemed for every tear that gravity pulled down from Chinatsu's face, a deeper ache embedded itself into Yui's stomach. She couldn't bear it. Chinatsu had latched herself onto her senpai's arm, sobbing into her shoulder.

Yui considered hugging her. _"That isn't right,"_ she flattened her expression at her own thoughts. _"That would make her feel better, but it won't solve the problem."_ But what would? The dark-haired girl pondered deeply.

 _"I don't hate you. You can be scary sometimes, but I definitely don't hate you..."_

With unforeseeable intensity, Yui's heart fluttered. Something inside her yearned to make this right. She had waited in agony for what felt to be hours, and it was time to act, she decided. With a frighteningly quick sweep of the arm, she had reoriented her pink-haired friend to be face-to-face with her once again.

"Chinatsu-chan." She straightly proclaimed, with a very earnest inclination. Muffled cicada sound soaked their prolonged eye contact. You know those moments when you think you know exactly what you're doing, but then when you actually get to doing it, you freeze? This would be one of those.

So it was time to act on impulse.

Yui leaned, only very slightly, albeit noticeably, forward. Chinatsu reciprocated, as if drawn by some unseen force. And before either had had a second to think about what the other was doing, their lips touched.

It would seem that impulses were the correct thing to follow that day.

Four eyes closed, and two tongues were introduced deep within the embrace of black and pink. Yui's uncertain yet confidently renewed hands met with the low of the other girl's back, and the other girl's hands interlaced behind her neck. Slowly, gently, they kissed eachother for many minutes, not roughly but passionately enough for breaths to become strained gasps and saliva to become a shared commodity. Each time they separated, their eyes would open and lock on eachother, and they would be forced together again. Tiny sweat droplets dotted every inch of exposed skin; both girls drifted into the embrace, forgetting their concerns and entering a world of carefree bliss.

Some time passed. Was it minutes, hours... days? Yui wasn't sure. But her glossy half-lidded eyes could recognize that the sun had shifted to a slightly lower spot in the sky. It was late afternoon; concern grew within her that Kyouko and Akari would return soon. Kyouko...

She couldn't think about that now. All she could notice as of late was the Chinatsu who had crawled her way into her lap, and was nuzzling the top of her head against the underside of Yui's chin. A content shade of pink, to match her head, spread across her cheeks.

"Yui-senpai, I love you."

Yui smiled and rubbed the back of the girl's head, using her other arm to hold the two closely together. That was a sufficient enough reply for now.

Chinatsu straightened to look deep into the milky brown eyes of her long time crush. "Does this mean I'm your... girlfriend?"

Yui didn't know what to say, really. She certainly couldn't deny how she felt; she was practically glowing. After some time staring into the wall across the room, she chose to rely on her trusty impulses yet again.

"I suppose you can be."

 **...**

* * *

 **...**

 _ **Several days later...**_

For any middle school girl with a mindset like that of Toshinou Kyouko, this was the best time of the day. No, of the entire week. Hell, it felt like life itself was opening its arms and inviting you outside to play. It was Friday.

Those familiar school bells rang. She was out the door so quickly she could have been accused of leaving early, had Sugiura Ayano not turned her head to spot the blonde dashing through the doorway a perfect second after the clock had changed.

"Toshinou Kyouko," she mumbled, a bit more quietly than intended. But it was too late. Ayano slumped back into her chair, dejected, while the remainder of the class shuffled toward the exit.

"Ayano-chan, did you need to speak with Toshinou-san?" Even lost in self-pity, Ayano's attention was always captured by that voice. It was her dear friend Chitose standing near, book bag in hand and glasses still worn, thankfully. Realizing the question, a faint reddish hue emanated from Ayano's cheeks, despite having told herself a hundred times to stop doing that.

Recognizing her own blush, and the fact that half their classmates plus the teacher still occupied the room, she wouldn't lift her head to respond.

"Nothing important."

In a much more energetic girl's mind, plans were forming. _"To the club room, and later Yui's house!"_ After that, who knows what the rest of the weekend would have in store for them. Kyouko practically bounded through the crowded halls and down the familiar path, all the way to the door of her beloved tea ceremony club room. She was slightly more excited than usual about her two days of freedom — only slightly.

Upon reaching out to remove the door from her way, she realized it was locked. She was the first one there.

"Boo." All that sweating for nothing. Everyone hoped for the weather to cool when the weekend finally came, but it wasn't looking very promising. On the subject of heat...

Four days had passed since Yui and Chinatsu incidentally attempted to consummate their... well, whatever it was they had. That was Monday, and they'd enjoyed virtually no alone time since it happened. Yui did, however, manage to communicate her fear that things would get unfathomably uncomfortable in the club room if anyone were to know about this. Chinatsu would have to control herself.

"Hey, I can control myself just fine," Chinatsu retorted to no one in particular. The trees overhanging her walkway to the club room shaded the scene in just the right way. It was very mellow, and very beautiful. As such, she could not tear her thoughts from Yui. Even the worst gambler in the world would have put his money on that.

Yes, controlling herself was easy. There was hardly anything she could do or say to Yui that would strike anyone as unusual — well, anyone who witnessed her yandere antics before, at least. No, surprisingly, the one who struggled with control the past few days was the interminably calm and collected Funami Yui. You see, Chinatsu's typical advances to Yui were in spite of Kyouko's advances to her, and in response Yui would placidly comfort her, and scold Kyouko. That still happened, and she still handled it normally, but there was another thing...

Every time those fluffy pink bundles of adorableness hit her chest or that sweet, needy voice cried for salvation, Yui felt a near undeniable urge to hug her, squeezing her closely until she slept in her arms. It was unlike her, she knew, and that part was concerning at first. It should go without saying that someone as straight-laced as Yui would take some time to adjust to having a _crush_ — that being the term she had naturally adopted to refer to these feelings. Thankfully, she was good at hiding her emotions.

* * *

All together at the club room, finally, things were unfolding a bit less eventfully than Kyouko had hoped for. Chinatsu had mentioned something about homework with Akari later that evening, but all the other idle conversation yielded no noteworthy experiences. Growing tired of her latest doodle — some sort of muscular jellyfish/man hyrbid standing on a beach at sunset — she decided to ask the question now. It was nearly time to go home, after all.

"Oi, Yui."

"What?" Yui's eyes never strayed from her magazine.

"What game are we gonna play tonight?" She had planned to ask permission for coming over, but at the last second figured she could skip the formality by now.

"Dunno. I've been feeling sick the last couple days. Thought about staying home alone this weekend to recover." Her expression revealed nothing, eyes still fixated to the page in front of her. It was out of character for Yui, and she knew that better than anyone. Chinatsu tried not to be obvious, but she was fidgeting a little. Akari was somewhere.

"Aww, c'mon Yui-nyan~... Cooking for me will make you feel better!"

Yui could feel Chinatsu's glare leering directly into her soul. She wouldn't dare look back at her, lest she reveal their silent communication to the whining Kyouko, but could see it through her periphery. She decided on a compromise.

"Okay, but you're only staying for one night this time."

Chinatsu relaxed in her spot around the table, satisfied. Her secret plans were still in action, for now.

"Yay!" Kyouko's outward appreciation opposed her internal disappointment. _"One night?"_ That was like letting a dog off its leash only to trap it inside a fence. Why couldn't she just do what she wanted?

Shortly after another bunch of nothing happened, the Amusement Club decided to disband the day's congregation a little early. The very instant the three girls rounded the corner toward the back exit path and went out of sight, an obviously exhausted Akari approached the empty club room.

"Sorry I'm late, I was helping the student council, and— _eehhh?!_

"Chinatsu-chan, we were supposed to walk home together!"

* * *

Thinking back during the walk home, Kyouko considered her day thus far a mild success. She had succeeded in continuing past her house and onward toward her friend's apartment, where hopefully she could find the answer she wanted. Was Yui really coming down with something, or did something happen? She knew she shouldn't care; best friends shared everything, even stiffs like Yui. If help was needed, help would be requested. Still, concern surmounted certainty within Kyouko's mind.

If a middle school age otaku is really capable of having a true, deep-rooted fear, uncertainty was hers. To be fair, uncertainty clouded and controlled her mind for the first decade of her life. Even years later, all it took was one person to hinder her confidence; one wrong action or emotion could cause all that doubt and apprehension that she had worked so tirelessly to overcome to well up again. Thankfully, she had Yui: the person who taught her to be brave, and the person who was rarely more than a futon away from giving the reassurance Kyouko occasionally needed. Yui would always be her best friend.

Needless to say, that uncertainty would return tenfold were Yui ever not there. Days like this, when her kuudere seemed down or depressed, Kyouko wanted nothing more than to spend time with her, to comfort her, or give her attention. She knew Yui had off days, too. She was only human.

While passing by a movie theater the two had visited many times before, Kyouko couldn't help but reminisce. That girl who always stood up for her against nasty, pink-haired bullies. That girl who always understood her unusual way of being thankful. That girl who... who...

"Kyouko? What is it?"

That girl she was staring at.

"N- Nothing!" Kyouko flipped her head back in the direction they were walking and tried to disguise her embarrassment. She would have no issue showing Yui how much she appreciated her in the privacy of her home, but they were still blocks away from home on a busy sidewalk. Not that Kyouko is the type of person to care what strangers think, but embarrassment is still an inborn trait.

Yui, straightening herself out as well, thought little of it.

"If you say so."

She had been contemplating her own concerns, and they were only growing. As their silent walk continued, Yui was beginning to doubt herself. She was confident with her decisions at first, but began to question how fair she and her new girlfriend's little plan was to the rest of their friends.

 _"It's harmless. It's just a date. Just because we're keeping it a secret doesn't make it sinister, things are just more comfortable that way. But Kyouko seemed really disappointed when I turned her down earlier. Plus, I can tell she's suspicious. But if I tell her, Chinatsu-chan will be upset. Then again if I don't tell her, she'll find out eventually and be really upset."_

Yui visualized herself facepalming. _"This isn't fair to Kyouko. The least I can do is be honest with her. And if Kyouko knows how strongly I feel about it, she will support me. I can always count her for stuff like that."_

Yui inhaled a bit more deeply than usual and smiled. Knowing she had that confidence in her friend took the weight of the whole world off her shoulders. She turned her head and opened her mouth to speak, but thought better of it. Luckily Kyouko was still too lost in thought to notice.

 _"Better wait until we get home."_


	2. Heat

"Ah, it's good to be home!" Kyouko carelessly tossed her bag of bricks— ahem, _books_ on the floor near the front door and flopped onto the carpet adjacent to the television.

"You have your own home, you know."

"You mean that place where I keep my manga? But Yui-nyan's place is much more fun..."

Yui considered _"stop calling me that"_ as a rebuttal, but since her decision to share the big secret, she was too distracted to berate her air-headed friend.

"We're both sweating. Do you want to use the bath first?"

Kyouko would have been content going straight to the games and food, but her ever-logical Yui had a point. She was in need of a shower. Another day at this temperature and the mercury would be ready to burst out of the thermometer.

"Eh, that's no fun."

"Just get it over with then."

"Fiiiine..." Kyouko groaned, more for the fun of groaning and annoying Yui than anything. She actually looked forward to a quick, relaxing shower and soak to soothe her muscles. _"Being forced to lug around this much schoolwork on a weekend should be illegal."_

"You know, you wouldn't be worn out from carrying so many books if you had actually done your homework during the wee—"

"You're reading my mind!" interrupted a flabbergasted Kyouko, mouth agape and pointer finger extended. Receiving an unamused expression from Yui, she relaxed her pose and continued, "Besides, you're the one who made me bring it all anyway."

"If I hadn't you would have forgotten all of it and gotten nothing done." Yui deadpanned.

"I could have just done it in class on Monday." _"Not a whole week's worth."_ The yellow-headed girl followed herself up, mentally impersonating her friend.

"Not a whole week's worth," came the predicted denial. Yui wasn't the only mind-reader today. Kyouko grinned and gave a quick "fine" to conclude the conversation while digging for a change of clothes out of her backpack.

* * *

For the quiet half hour or more succeeding Kyouko's entrance to the bathroom, Yui was lost in thought. Perhaps the heat had gotten to her. She had begun by mentally reciting choreographed conversations in preparation for the revelation, and plotting how to possibly bring it up in the first place. Not to mention, would Kyouko be angry? Jealous, sure. Yui was prepared for that, but she knew Kyouko would be understanding enough. When two friends were this close, there was no way something like jealousy could come between them. Still, there was a lot to worry about.

But she now lay sprawled upon the floor near the air conditioning vent, imagining not conversations with her part-time roommate, but the girl herself. She recalled how her skin had shimmered in the summer heat, and the way her deep blue eyes seemingly radiated light energy as powerfully as the sun itself. Yui's face warmed to a burning scarlet, discrepant to the now livable room temperature of the tiny apartment.

Suddenly, as if awakened from a dream, the sleepy girl arose from her back and twisted her slightly contorted neck to view the clock hanging on the opposing wall. Nearly performing a double-take upon realizing the distance its minute hand had traversed, Yui questioned, "What is Kyouko doing in there?"

Double-taking not at the clock again but now at her bathroom door, she repeated the question with a bit more curiosity.

"What _is_ Kyouko doing in there?"

It wasn't that she heard any strange noises, but that it was suspiciously quiet. Yui dared to follow where her thoughts were leading her.

 _"Kyouko... alone in the bath... for almost an hour..."_

If her face had by now lost its color from her earlier daydream, the redness would return at this moment, and in a much deeper shade this time. _"Eh... hmm. What am I thinking? Maybe I really am getting sick."_

Following that, a moment of honesty.

 _"Though, I guess, something like that... isn't impossible. I read somewhere that most girls do it..._

 _"But why would Kyouko do **that** in my house? What if she's thinking about..."_

Yui stared into the clear sky through the window, disengaging herself from the universe to be alone with her imagination for a while. Moments later, just as she began to recover her senses, Kyouko exited the bathroom, sporting a plain T-shirt and shorts. It was too hot and too early in the day to be a tomato, unfortunately.

"Ahhh, much better~

"Yui-chan, your turn."

Yui brushed past Kyouko and sped out of the living room, focused on avoiding eye contact. She briskly secluded herself in the bathroom.

"I'm going to start up Namo Quest," Yui heard through the space at the bottom of the door. Kyouko knelt in front of the TV, pulling the aforementioned game from the shelf and starting it up. She loaded the most recent save, and spent a few minutes browsing the inventory and map trying to remember where exactly they had left off. The frustration of having no recent experience to work from made her thirsty, so Kyouko left her seat, marking the refrigerator as her destination.

She stood up and felt... a disturbance of some sort. Her equilibrium had been altered somehow.

"Eh? Am I in another dimension?" came a semi-serious inquiry before the blonde reached a hand atop her head.

"My ribbon!"

With genuine urgency she rushed across the room and paused at the bathroom door for a sudden "think before you act" warning from her conscience.

 _"There's no time!"_ Kyouko pressed. "Yui, I'm coming in! My ribbon is—"

The ribbon, while possessing immense sentimental value (not really), was the last thing Kyouko would see. Yui was undressed already, _and then some_. During the second it would take Yui to respond to her presence and cover herself, the intruder would mentally capture an image to last a lifetime. Pieces of her school uniform littered the floor, and her eyes held firmly closed; some silky strands of black hair draped over the rim of the bath, which she was leaning back against, sitting on the floor. Yui's curiously positioned hands obscured a particular body part, one which her leg spread attempted to reveal. Her mouth hung slightly agape, as if she were breathing heavily.

Unexpectedly interrupted during her moment of bliss, Yui snapped her head forward, some sixth sense warning her that another person had entered the room. Her eyes darted up to the door and widened like a river during a rainstorm upon determining the girl's presence. Kyouko's expression matched.

"Ah— Kyouko!"

 _Stunned_ is quite an understatement of Kyouko's reaction; she couldn't even think about what to do now. Forgetting why she opened the door in the first place, the accidental peeping tom practically slammed it shut and sprinted back to her spot in the living room, aiming to forget what just happened as her mind stayed behind, still trying to process the event.

"Yui... she was..."

 **...**

* * *

 **...**

Orange streaks of light from the lowering sun snuck through the blinds. Nearly an hour had slipped by with no communication commencing between the inseparable pair of friends. Yui had leveled up the entire party three times over, and now approached the boss. Kyouko would have repeated herself in asserting how much more fun her strategy was, but this time that very active mouth remained closed.

The boss was unusually challenging, despite the extra levels, and it took all of a well-trained gamer to defeat. Nonetheless, Yui would prevail after quite an exhausting battle. Both girls' first reaction to the victory screen was a spirited "Yay!" and a turn towards eachother, which would often typically result in a celebratory hug; this time, however, it elicited only blushes and quick head turns.

"Kyo-... Kyouko, I... I was going to tell you something." Yui now wore her panda pyjamas, which had prompted Kyouko to don her tomato as well. And now, desperate to break the tension, Yui chose the one thing she could think of to take their minds off the incident: the news she planned to break earlier regarding her tentative relationship with Chinatsu. The girl causing her distress, on the other hand, had a more relevant topic.

"Wait, don't. I should be apologizing, and you shouldn't have to say anything. You can do whatever you want in your own house and I invaded your privacy." Kyouko spoke with incredible pace, stare centered on her hands, which were rested in her lap. Yui had never felt more guilty over an action before, and had spent the last hour wondering if her best friend would ever speak to her again. Then when she finally did, and a bit of relief settled Yui's stomach, she couldn't help but giggle at such a stern apology coming from Kyouko.

"And... To be fair, you got undressed really quickly." Kyouko added, more relaxed and less official sounding, though still not lifting her gaze.

"Ye-... Yeah, I guess I did," the usual straight man in the routine responded without a lot of thought. Yui had turned off the Playstation sometime during the last few sentences, hoping to steer the activity towards conversation, or maybe to begin cooking dinner. But both girls were rendered speechless again, and they stared at a blank screen.

"You know, Yui, umm... I do it too."

"Eh?! W- What?!"

"It's nothing to be ashamed about!" Kyouko blurted, though the color of her cheeks and lowering of her head contradicted her reassurance. Yui's position mirrored hers.

Silence. Then, after a long moment:

"I don't... _do_ that. It was... a one time thing."

To this, Kyouko looked up and at her friend, but immediately regretted it. Her face reddened more deeply than ever before upon their eye contact.

Recovering enough sense to try and talk her way out of her earlier confession, she stuttered, "Ah... uh, what a relief! I... I was going to lie to make you feel better!" She threw a hand to the back of her head, feigning a relieved expression.

"I know you do it..." Realizing what she was about to confess, Yui looked to the wall away from Kyouko. "It... it was thinking about you doing it that... made me... want to do it." That was it. She would never show her face again. Yui would have to curl into a ball and die now.

Kyouko would never allow that. Crawling on her knees to Yui's sulking seat on the floor, she placed sure hands on her shoulders, turned her around, and embraced Yui in a close hug, practically falling into the other girl's lap. Unsure, Yui pensively allowed her hands to rest on red pyjama-clad sides, forgetting some of her shame and welcoming the comfort. Having her contact accepted, Kyouko now only needed to add some humor to the situation to finish breaking the tension.

"I can't help that I'm so sexy." Instead of the expected chuckle or retort, Kyouko was grabbed on the arms and pulled to her knees, face-to-face with Yui, who looked like hundreds of words were ready to spill out of her. None would have time to at the velocity with which their faces closed in on eachother.

 _"She smells so nice..."_ Yui couldn't process any thought not pertaining to the girl in front of her. Something about Kyouko flipped a switch in her mind, just like it had earlier. And while exploring the depth of those glowing ocean-shaded eyes, nothing else mattered. There was no thought process; no weighing of the potentially disastrous consequences.

Only a kiss.

Yui returned Kyouko's favor and fell into the other girl's lap, though Kyouko wouldn't put any effort into holding them up. She was pressed onto her back, Yui atop her, their lips staying in touch during the entire process. But simple contact wouldn't suffice for Yui, so she asserted her tongue at the entrance to Kyouko's mouth, and was gladly allowed in. The bottom, not to be outdone, snaked her hands around Yui's waist and pulled the two oh so tightly together. Yui slipped a hand inside the tomato hood and caressed the cheek of Kyouko. The two girls' lips may as well be one set now; their tongues danced, mostly in Kyouko's mouth, though occasionally being fought back into Yui's.

"Mmmh..." The blonde moaned, quite honestly enjoying being pinned in the way she was. However only seconds later, Yui broke away. Kyouko's body was on fire. She needed Yui back in full force before another second passed, or she might just lose it. Pleadingly, she opened her eyes.

"Yui..." Kyouko could have sworn her own face showed more than enough pleasure to convince her to continue. Yet Yui looked aside, mouth closed and straight. Despite the flood of urges the analyst Yui hesitated while her mind tried to tell her body how wrong this was, now having betrayed a new and secret girlfriend whom she had more or less forgotten about by this point.

Kyouko wouldn't allow some insecurity to interfere with her own needs. She gripped Yui's pyjamas around the waist, grabbing more fabric than necessary for a tighter hold, and flipped both their bodies with the quickness of a professional wrestler, but gently, like a tiger cub sparring with its sibling. Utilizing her new position on top Kyouko held down the kuudere's arms, firmly but lovingly, and levitated her face dangerously close to Yui's, the tips of their noses brushing against one another.

"You have to finish what you started, Yui-nya~"

"...Stupid," Yui pouted, blushing and struggling to look away again.

This attitude only serving to entice Kyouko, she pressed down initiating another kiss. Bashful Yui hesitantly accepted, falling victim to the blonde's attacks time and time again. Throughout this battle of tongues Yui would begin to return the favor more and more, becoming increasingly dominant, and soon they would roll over again, Yui returning to the top.

But the tomato wouldn't have this just yet, oh no. She pushed Yui over, flattening her, and crawled up to sit on her waist area, smiling that same toothy smile Yui knows so well. Kyouko spread her hands across the panda-girl's chest to hold her down and bent her back to reach lethal kissing range. The blushing ebony-haired girl rested her hands on Kyouko's, trying to intertwine their fingers, all while admiring the blonde-framed pretty face with a timid closed-mouth grin showing on her own.

The cute otaku smiled wider, her lips centimeters from the target. "Have I found your deredere side, Yui?"

There would be no opportunity to respond, obviously. Amidst the next battle of lips within this war of kissing, Kyouko would feather her hand in between their bodies, palming Yui's front, in an effort to reach lower. Sliding off the girl to her left and separating their bodies just enough to reach near her waistline, Kyouko pulled her face away from Yui's. Whilst staring into brown eyes, still holding that devilish smirk, her hand finally arrived at its destination.

"Nnh... K- Kyouko, you can't..."

At this point, Kyouko's expression melted from a sadistic grin into a look of false empathy, her eyebrows angled in a teasing manner. She questioned, in a mock serious tone:

"Oh, would you rather do it yourself?"

"Sh-... Shut up!" With her embarrassment from earlier added on top of her current situation, Yui blushed furiously. Kyouko giggled victoriously, but then her face fell into a genuinely serious expression. Her eyes narrowed slightly and her right hand hovered at the ready, inches away from Yui's place.

"Do you want this, Yui?" Kyouko waited face-to-face with her friend for a response, though it would not come in the form of words. Yui lifted her hips up to meet Kyouko's waiting fingers, forcing them to press against her, and used her own hands to pull the blonde's lips down to her own, allowing this passionate embrace to settle any uncertainty.

 _"Of course I do, idiot..."_

They kissed more deeply than before. Kyouko roughly pressed her palm into Yui, which caused her tongue to hesitate in Yui's mouth out of minor shock; she was wet — _really_ wet. The thick, insulating pyjamas were working well as a towel at this point. Kyouko opened her eyes briefly only to find another pair looking right back at her. Both girls surprised by the unusually close eye contact, they broke the kiss.

Yui was practically panting. Her cheeks were warm, and her mouth never fully closed, but her hands remained steady and calm. Kyouko, on the other hand, didn't contain herself quite as well. Seeing... rather, _feeling_ her lifelong friend in ways she never thought she would was affecting her body more than she had prepared for. Strings of saliva trailed off her bottom lip; as for parts hidden underneath her pyjamas, it was a similar story. Every part of her being was, quite literally, dripping with desire.

Sensing Kyouko's condition, Yui made a decision to take the lead. She began by sitting upright, pulling Kyouko with her. Next, she crossed her legs and put both hands on Kyouko's hips to guide her onto her lap. Now Kyouko sat facing and with her ankles crossed behind Yui. Flashing a smile at the blonde, Yui finalised the position by dipping forward into a kiss, bending Kyouko backwards very slightly and steadying her with her left arm, and simultaneously cupping the space in between Kyouko's thighs with her right hand. Kyouko gladly opened her legs a bit wider, permitting her new lover access to her most sensitive area.

She was disappointed to have forfeited such a dominant position, but Kyouko would live to fight another day. Presently, her focus was on nothing but Yui. The smell of her shampoo and the inviting softness of her torso, which Kyouko found herself running her hands along, grasping at the black and white fabric in search of what lies beneath, intoxicated her senses and greatly heightened the sensations she was getting from down lower, where Yui was pleasantly rubbing and poking through the tomato onesie with a gentle curiosity. Yui loved to feel Kyouko's little jerks and twitches with her fingers, and she enjoyed gauging where the best spots to touch were based on her tiny yelps and moans.

"Hhnn... aah, Yui..."

Startlingly, Kyouko collapsed into Yui, forcing her to lean back against the wall behind her. Having allowed her partner's efforts to go unreciprocated for long enough, Kyouko slithered a hand diagonally down her chest, then her stomach, and eventually to her lower portions. Upon reaching her lover's flower Kyouko immediately got to work, hoping to equate Yui's level of pleasure to her own. It wasn't about being in control of the situation or being on top any more; Kyouko only did what her body insisted upon. The black-haired girl maintained the use of her right hand in serving the blonde, and used her left to grasp the backside of Kyouko's head (knocking off the tomato hood in the process) and pull the girl's sweating face closer to her own.

The ensuing kiss was unlike any before, so deep and intense that if another person were watching they might mistake the pair of girls for one entity — a ball of multicolored fabric and skin and hair that gyrated into itself with force, all the while panting and moaning cutely in between ragged breaths.

Kyouko was on the attack again. Her rubbing and pawing at the panda-girl's sodden place was growing more feverish than before. To allow Yui better access to her own sweet spot, she reoriented herself until she was once again sitting in her lover's lap. Yui could feel the otaku's legs wrapping tightly around her back, and Kyouko relished in the warmth of Yui's breath on her neck. The two bodies were closer than ever, and it was absolute bliss.

"Kyoukooo~ don't... stop..!" Yui managed to squeak out during her lover's assailment. Kyouko played roughly at the tight cloth in between her legs and Yui aggressively reciprocated. Oxygen was too hard to come by for their lips to remain interlaced for very long now, however that missing point of contact would be replaced with the pressing of the girls' chests and foreheads into one another.

In a scene of rapidly rising tension, Kyouko began to sense an incredible event drawing near. Not one to delay the inevitable, she unwrapped her right leg from Yui and lifted Yui's left leg on top of it, then crossed her ankles again behind her lover. Now the angle was better. Yui immediately recognized the blonde's intent and lowered her arms to Kyouko's waist in order to pull her in tight. Now making contact more _directly_ , the girls' hands were only useful for holding eachother as closely as possible.

Seconds later, Funami Yui found herself staring into her friend's eyes during a most intimate moment, while they grinded into eachother. Kyouko was so beautiful; her blue orbs sparkled with lust, and every time the rhythm of their hips aligned and their most sensitive places met, her voice would crack with the most adorable little noises. The faint hint of dampness from the sweat on her cheeks amplified her flawless features. Unfortunately Yui could not stop to admire for long, as the physicality of her motions was constantly increasing to match that of her partner, and the incredible feelings enveloping her entire body would not allow her eyes to remain open for very long.

"Kyou...ko— _Ah!_ This feels... so good!"

"Y- Yui!..."

Although it was not direct contact, the difference was trivial at this point; if anything, the pyjamas had attributed to the pleasure. The volume of Yui's voice had certainly increased, as a signal of her approaching climax, and she noticed her head beginning to feel fuzzy.

Kyouko began to lose herself. She couldn't feel her legs, or her arms, only the most important parts — her core, and the intense heat that filled her belly, ready to be released as if she were going to self-destruct. Her mind began going white; the only thought she could process was Yui. All she could _feel_ was Yui.

"Aaaahnn! Shit, Yui... _Yes!_ "

An explosion of euphoria erupted simultaneously in both bodies. Like flipping a switch, the entire world turned off; everything else faded away and nothing remained but Yui and Kyouko. Searing heat flooded every inch of their bodies. Every nerve fired off in absolute pleasure. The two friends melted into one another, embedding their places together even harder still, soaking the cloth that connected them. They continued to press their bodies against eachother while the sensations of ecstasy overrode their senses.

Seemingly minutes later, Yui found herself unable to uphold her sitting position and, dragging Kyouko with her, fell down on her side. She was still fully embraced with Kyouko; their legs were almost in a knot which didn't appear to be untying itself any time soon. The two flowers that had clung together so snugly over the last few minutes were no less united now, and the dark-haired girl had regained enough sensation to feel the dampness that adhered them.

Kyouko was in recovery mode as well, if her rapid deep breathing was anything to go by. The messy, sweaty duo of middle school girls was content to cuddle and lay together on the living room floor for some time.

Eventually their heart rates would descend back into human numbers, and speech would again become possible. Through an elated smile and slightly laborious gasps of air, Kyouko talked first.

"Hahh... Yui, I need..."

Yui was breathing a little less erratically, though she was equally drained. It's safe to say she had never experienced anything nearly that intense ever before.

"Hnn, what, Kyouko?"

"I need—" At that precise instant, the otaku's stomach growled. "...dinner!"

"...Mhmm, so romantic," Yui exhaled.

Forever energetic, the blonde hopped up to her feet in a typically quick motion, and hurdled a few steps toward the kitchen before Yui stopped her.

"Kyouko, wait! I... at least need to change my clothes."

* * *

The remaining few hours of that Friday evening were spent relaxing. After a simple and effortless dinner, Yui laid out the futon right away, clearly exhausted. The thought of Chinatsu briefly crossed her mind many times throughout the night after what she had done, but Yui forced those concerns away; she needed some rest before she would be able to come to terms with her betrayal. For the time being, she was happy. Happy and carefree, _"Just like Kyouko,"_ she mentally noted.

Now they lay together under the skylight view of a starry royal blue. Neither member of the pair had spoken a word since Yui turned off the lights, but it wasn't a hostile or uneasy kind of silence. It was as if neither girl had much of anything to say, and they were both comfortable with that; they were both happy. The room was all smiles, and Yui felt herself drifting off to sleep.

"Oi, Yui-chan."

"What?" She responded quickly, surprised. Then, after a second of hesitation, "There's rum raisin in the fridge."

"No, not that." Kyouko rolled on to her side and scooted a little closer to Yui before continuing. The blonde wrapped her arm around her darker haired counterpart and snuggled into her. Once her mouth was within a few inches of Yui's ear, and with generous portions of sweetness sprinkled over her tone, she said that magic word.

"I love you."

Yui was already sound asleep.


	3. Penalty

_**The following Monday...**_

"Toshinou Kyouko!"

"Huh, Ayano?"

"Eh... You're alone..."

Ayano had gathered enough courage to make the trip to the tea ceremony club room by herself, but was not by any means prepared to be alone in such a private location with... her. Confidence leaving her in an instant, the student council vice president took on a panicked voice and desperately tried to explain her way out of this situation.

"Uhm... y- y- y- you didn't turn in your handout!"

Kyouko's mind had been elsewhere when Ayano entered the room a mere five seconds ago, and she had yet to pull herself from her thoughts. Analyzing the scenario, Ayano noted the fact that Kyouko probably didn't want to be bothered, and she likely didn't have the paper with her anyway. Now would be a good time to escape from this uncomfortable moment.

"Well, never mind! You can bring it in tomorrow!" She spoke quickly while turning away.

"Ayano, wait!"

Returning to her position in the doorway, half expecting a joke or a flirtatious comment which would only serve to embarrass her further, Ayano glared in the direction of the blonde. Her leer was intercepted by those two sparkling blue eyes that... weren't quite sparkling. Ayano immediately observed Kyouko's expression to be slightly dimmer than usual. As a matter of fact, judging by the inverted smile and faint evidence of dried tears on her upper cheek, Kyouko's entire face emanated negativity.

This visual prompted Ayano to rush over and hug her, though she would never acknowledge that herself. The purple-headed girl did know, however, that something was wrong, and she needed to take action. She tried speaking.

"T-... Toshinou Kyouko..."

And she failed at speaking. Silence doused the space between their eyes with the same suffocating intensity as the heat outside.

"Ayano..." Kyouko's voice served to relieve the helpless tightening of Ayano's chest, but only briefly as Kyouko broke their eye contact, leaving her classmate at a greater loss for words than she had previously imagined possible. Ayano nervously swallowed, unable to even open her mouth. Looking down to her closed notebook, Kyouko would continue —

"If you aren't too busy... could you maybe stay here, for a while?" Hesitating, Kyouko raised her head to send Ayano a look that was practically dripping with sadness and neediness, and maybe even a little desperation.

With that expression Ayano promised herself that whatever had gone wrong, any and all things that caused Toshinou Kyouko to feel this way she would do her absolute best to make right. Renewed by a motive she was not entirely familiar with, Ayano knew it was her job to put a smile back on her rival's face, even if she didn't know why.

Then pleadingly, albeit unnecessarily, Kyouko added, "Please?"

Ayano practically sprinted to a seat across from Kyouko, plopping down properly with her hands in her lap, her mouth screwed shut the entire time. Being the tsundere she didn't know she was, it became a struggle to formulate words to penetrate the still air, but her determination would eventually pull her through.

"Wh- What are you working on?" She asked, using her eyes to point at the notebook surrounded by eraser shavings sitting on the table across from her.

"Oh, it's nothing you would be interested in." Kyouko exhaled like she wanted to laugh, but her lips would not adjust to allow her to do so.

"More doujinshi?"

"Uh... yeah. I had an idea so I was trying to sketch something up."

Believe it or not, Ayano quite enjoys Kyouko's drawings. And based on the amount of erasing that had obviously been done, Kyouko must have been sketching something rather important. An excellent deduction, to be expected from the esteemed vice president of the student council.

"Can I see?"

"Oh, w- well it's just Mirakurun, so you won't be interested! Heh heh..." This time Kyouko did laugh, only in a nervously strained way.

Ayano was seriously curious now. "Come on, Toshinou Kyouko, I... I actually liked the book you sold at Comuket. So, please?"

Kyouko was struck. _"She liked it? I thought she wasn't interested."_ Studying Ayano's blush and widened eyes, the artist realized she was actually quite interested.

"Well, I guess you can look," Kyouko decided, "but you aren't allowed to tell anyone about it, because... because this plot is copyrighted to me!"

Sliding the notebook across the table to herself, Ayano laughed. Leaving her proper tone of voice, she spoke very casually to Kyouko, a rare sight:

"Don't worry, I'm not going to steal your story."

Underneath the exterior notebook cover was a sort of makeshift cover page. Center frame was an illustration of pre-transformation Mirakurun — _"What was her name again?"_ If it came into question, Ayano would admit that she still wasn't intimately familiar with the source material. Whatever the girl's name was, she was not giving the reader her usual shining smile, but instead gazed off-screen with a melancholy expression. This was clearly not typical Mirakurun doujinshi, Ayano noted. Her interest was piqued, to say the least.

The purple-haired girl snapped to the next page. Immediately, she realized that this story was very much a sketch, still in the 'idea' phase; the character artwork in the following panels was merely an outline with relatively little detail when compared to the title page. The only things filled in were dialogue bubbles and expressions with some vague backgrounds here and there. Despite this, her curiosity inspired her to continue.

 _~"Raika-chan, why would you do this?!"~_ Mirakurun appeared fully transformed in the first panel.

 _~" **Don't call me that!** We can't be friends anymore. That's how it has to be."~_

 _~"But... Raibarun, we've been friends for so long!"~_ Now Mirakurun was reeling back, with tears in her eyes.

 _~"Shut up! You're a witch girl, so talk with your fists!"~_ The next page used multiple panels to illustrate Raibarun launching a blast of magical energy, striking Mirakurun in the face.

While she was flipping the paper again, Ayano glanced up at Kyouko, only for a second. The blonde was sitting patiently, staring off into the distance while twiddling a pencil around her fingers, lacking the glistening, excited eyes she usually gets when somebody reads her work. There was something about Kyouko's expression, and the mood of this doujinshi so far... somehow Kyouko seemed unusually _mature_ , the purple-head thought.

The entire third page was dedicated to a more detailed zoom of Mirakurun's tear-laden face. Her eyes squinted shut and her cheek was shaded to show a mark from her rival's attack.

 _~"If that's how it has to be, then... then I won't fight you any more!"~_

Less completed than the previous pages, the fourth consisted of Mirakurun — rather, untransformed Mirakurun — having an internal monologue.

 _~"After that day, Raika-chan stopped talking to me at school. We didn't have lunch together any more, and she avoided me between classes._

 _"I know it's my job to stop Raibarun, especially now that she really has turned evil. But now that we aren't secretly friends any more, it just doesn't feel right. We could really hurt eachother..."~_

The final two panels displayed the main character standing alone holding her magical wand, and, subsequently, _breaking it._

The next and final page simply read, _~"The End"~_

"Eh? _The end?_ "

The student council member dropped the notebook back on the table, unceremoniously leveled her head and said very flatly:

"Toshinou Kyouko, what is this?"

"Eh-heh-heh... You see, sometimes I write sad stuff, but... I normally don't share it with anyone." Kyouko awkwardly explained.

Ayano was a bit dumbfounded. _"What was that about? Mirakurun just... gives up?"_ Impulsively and without contemplation Ayano bolted up from her seat and assumed her accusatory-finger-point pose.

"What's with you?!"

"What?!" Kyouko flinched in surprise.

"Your mood is so serious today. Did you fall down the stairs and hit your head again?"

"Ah... No, I..." The blonde seemed as if she was struggling to find the right words.

"Not to mention, school just ended and none of your friends are here." Ayano steadily slumped back down to a sitting position. "You can tell me if something happened..." Her determined look then faded into the bashful one Kyouko was more accustomed to. "Not that I really care, or anything..."

"No, it's nothing, just... Yui-chan didn't come to school today, and Akari is off shopping with her sister, or something like that."

"That's right, I forgot Funami-san was absent today. But what about Yoshikawa-san?" Ayano pointed out the unmentioned club member.

"She... wouldn't talk to me." The otaku's head dropped in a dejected fashion.

"But why not?"

"I don't know for sure, but... well, it's kind of complicated."

The tsundere girl had been confident up to this point, but now the conversation didn't seem to be moving forward. "You're being too vague..."

"Okay, I'll start from this morning. My mom woke me up asking if I felt all right, since she had just found out over the phone that Yui was sick. That's when I knew she wasn't coming in today. Then I ran into Chinatsu-chan on the walk to school..."

 _~"Oooi, China-chan!"_

 _Chinatsu stopped mid-step and whipped around to face the source of the call, her backpack swinging dramatically and bundles of hair bouncing to a halt. "Good morni—"_

 _ **"Don't talk to me."** Kyouko was interrupted. The pink devil's cerulean orbs sparkled threateningly under the morning sun. Kyouko couldn't think of what to respond with, though her gasp and wide eyes conveyed depression mixed with a little bit of terror._

 _"I don't want to be around you right now." With that, Chinatsu spun on her heel and strutted away.~_

"I was so upset I considered turning back and going home, but decided it would probably be easier to sit in class than to convince my mom I was sick or something." Kyouko mumbled out, clearly rattled by the odd scenario.

"That's awful! And you don't know why she said that?"

"I have... an idea. But she keeps avoiding me, so I can't know for sure..."

Ayano placed her hand to her own chin and processed Kyouko's recollection. _"I never did like the pink-haired girl. How could she act like such a... such a..."_

"Ayano."

Apparently shocked by being torn from her thoughts, the vice president locked eyes with the blonde. Kyouko had a formation of tear drops developing in the corner of her right eye. "Ayano, thanks for sitting with me," she smiled. Before either of them knew it, she was on the opposite side of the table and next to Ayano, hugging the purple-haired girl from the side. The tsundere's face instantly darkened to rival the shade of her hair.

"To- T- T- T- **Toshinou Kyouko!** " Kyouko ignored the protests and held on a few more seconds before pulling away.

"I really want to go see Yui now. I promise I'll bring you that handout first thing tomorrow morning!" She yelled over her shoulder while running toward the room's exit.

 _"Hm, the what?"_ "Ah, Toshinou Kyouko, wait! What about this notebook?" Ayano referred to Kyouko's sketch book which was still on the table.

The artist turned back for one last wink before heading out the door. "You can keep it!"

"Toshinou Kyouko... _Thanks._ "

* * *

 _ **To be continued...**_


	4. Doubt

_~"Yui, I don't really know how to tell you this, but I have some... feelings..."_

 _"Hmm?"_

 _"What I mean is, I have something I want to share with you..."_

 _"Kyouko, what are you trying to say?"_

 _"Yui-chan, I... I think I love you. You're my best friend, but it's more than that. The way I feel about you, it's different... I just—"_

 _"Kyouko... I feel the same way."~_

"No no no, that sounds like a sappy shoujo manga," Kyouko facepalmed. "But it has to be at least a little cheesy. I want her to know how I feel." She wore a look of determination but inwardly, she was nervous.

Three days without Yui was all it took for Kyouko to decide to make a move. First they spent Friday night together... _and did much more than sleeping_. Then the morning after, her kuudere rushed her out of the house so quickly she didn't even have time to eat breakfast. Then when Sunday came, Kyouko was too nervous to go see her friend. She was afraid things would be awkward between them, and afraid that what they did might hurt their friendship. So the otaku let apprehension prevail and spent the day alone, watching Mirakurun and working on her doujinshi.

Now, Monday, after suffering an entire school day without her best friend (which was always a dreadful experience) and accidentally exposing her 'crybaby' side to Ayano, she had had enough. She was ready to tell Yui how she felt; to reveal that she wanted to become more than just friends. At least, she _thought_ she was ready.

 _~"Yui, I want to talk about... us."_

 _"Ah, I'm glad you said something. I think what we did was wrong, so let's forget it ever happened. Sound good?"~_

"What if she says something like that?!" The blonde gasped and twiddled her fingers nervously. Taking note of a video game store in her periphery, she decided to add a waypoint to her walk in order to get her mind off things for a few minutes.

The crowded aisles separated by high shelves of discs and cartridges was not the best way to tear her thoughts from Yui. The first thing to enter her mind whenever she looked at any game in particular would be Yui — whether or not she would play that one, or some general opinion the girl might have about it. On top of that, Kyouko's subtle fear of tight crowded spaces was becoming noticeable, and she was uncomfortable. _"I'd be fine if Yui was here..."_

Two steps from the exit something caught her eye: the new Namo Quest. _'The exciting newest edition of the world famous RPG is here! Adventure like never before with double the quests, triple the dragons, and 500% more pixels!'_

Kyouko giggled audibly while she analyzed the cover art and description. _"I bet Yui can't wait to play this."_ Scanning the back of the case, her vision finally settled on the price tag.

"That's crazy expensive!" A few other store patrons were startled by the schoolgirl's sudden outburst. Blushing, she scurried into a corner to divert attention from herself and started counting her money. What remained of her spending cash was just a few coins exceeding the price of the game.

 _"But that means no rum raisin this week..."_ The blonde was still mulling it over when another thought popped into her head — something about it being a gift for Yui; that was all the convincing she needed, and Kyouko was through the checkout line and out the door without a shred of doubt.

The final few blocks of her afterschool walk flew by and before she knew it, Kyouko was standing at her sick friend's doorstep. She was deciding what antic to pull, like holding the doorbell and never letting the second half of the chime play, or mashing the button as quickly as possible, when she realized that Yui could be asleep and since she was sick, Kyouko wouldn't want to surprise her too much.

In the end she stuck with a simple press of the button. And then, about a minute later, another one, and thirty seconds after that, a couple more.

"Yuiii, it's meee~"

Still nothing. _"That must be some nap. Maybe she's in the shower..."_ The otaku's pale cheeks gained some color in response to the memory of her intrusion into her best friend's bathroom a few days before.

The door opened.

"You didn't tell me you were coming" was the first sentence from the dark-haired girl's mouth.

"I wanted to surprise you!" Kyouko smiled. The cheerfulness was not returned.

"You know I'm sick, right? I need to rest, not play."

"I know, Yui, but I... I brought you a gift! So can I come inside, _please_?"

Yui pinched the bridge of her nose. "Fine, just, don't be too energetic, okay? We were relaxing just fine until now."

"We?" Yui stepped back into the household and Kyouko followed. To her surprise (and internally, _utter dismay_ ) she saw something on the far side of the table. Something... Pink.

"Chi-... Chinatsu-chan?"

"Hi, Kyouko-senpai."

Chinatsu's greeting revealed no emotion. She idly refilled Yui's teacup as the black-haired girl sat back down beside her. Kyouko would follow suit, albeit more slowly and hesitantly; she was confused as to why Chinatsu was here, confused as to why Yui was so reluctant to let her in. Her thoughts were suddenly swimming with uncertainty.

 _"Did Yui invite Chinatsu over but not me? Is that why she avoided me today? Ah, I can't say anything — it's too awkward..."_

Chinatsu sipped her tea in silence as if she were serving as a barrier between the girls on either side of her. Her eyes were closed and her lips were held in a manner which almost appeared condescending, like the tension in the air was supporting her confidence. Yui appeared uninterested, which was not unusual. She did nothing more than stare at her tea, save for the occasional cough and sniffle. Kyouko was without a cup, compiling the awkwardness of the situation. Chinatsu was definitely not bothered to go and retrieve one for her.

"So... how are you feeling?" Breaking the silence made Kyouko feel like a brave protagonist from an action movie. Chinatsu rested her cup back on the table and sighed, leaving her eyes and mouth mostly closed, seemingly upset at hearing words.

"Oh, I'm a little better. My fever is almost gone and I feel pretty energetic compared to this morning."

 _"Energetic by sick-Yui standards,"_ Kyouko noted mentally. The dark-haired girl seemed exceptionally complacent compared even to her usual impassive self, especially considering the tense mood of her apartment right now. "That's good. In that case, would you maybe feel like, say, playing a game..?"

Chinatsu opened her eyes at this. The blonde could feel some level of animosity from her leer, even without making eye contact.

"What kind of game?" Yui asked.

Kyouko grinned from ear to ear. For a moment she forgot about all her concerns and discomfort, because certainly this would fix everything.

"Oh, nothing major. Just **this!** " Kyouko pulled the fresh bought package from her bag and displayed it out at arm's length. She saw a spark in Yui's eye and immediately thanked herself for sacrificing ice cream for this.

"You bought this?!"

"Sure did. I thought it might make you feel better," the otaku snickered.

Like a bolt of lightning, the game was knocked out of her hand by a karate chop coming from her left. The plastic case bounced once before landing harmlessly on the floor.

Chinatsu was standing, her right arm fully extended. Pink bangs menacingly shadowed her eyelids. Kyouko was obviously shocked, but she didn't notice much of a reaction from Yui.

" **What the hell is wrong with you?!** Do you know how much I paid for that?!"

Chinatsu moved not a muscle for several seconds. Even then, the only motion was that of her right arm falling back to her side. Her head still hung low while Kyouko continued, demanding an explanation.

"Why is it that as soon as I show up, you start using the silent treatment? And why are you angry about me giving Yui something when I'm just trying to cheer her up!?" Kyouko was outright yelling now.

"Yui-senpai didn't ask anyone to come over, so you shouldn't be here anyway," Chinatsu retorted in a soft matter-of-fact tone.

"So you get to decide who's allowed to visit her?!"

"Maybe I should!"

"Enough!" Yui slammed her fist into the table and stood up. "I'm too tired for this. If you want to yell at eachother, do it somewhere else!" Yui looked as if she had more to say, but her sentence was cut short by a rough sounding cough. The pink-haired girl looked her direction, then lowered her head once again, this time in shame. Kyouko, on the other hand, reassumed her dismal expression from earlier. A tear leaked from the corner of her eye.

"Yui..."

"Kyouko, just... Just go."

Kyouko slung her bag over her shoulder and stormed out of the apartment with tears streaming down her face, a slamming door in her wake. Yui couldn't spend but a few seconds analyzing the situation before she spiraled into a fit of coughing. Having to raise her voice like that was not beneficial to her already irritated throat.

A few moments and the last cup of tea were gone before her coughing affair subsided. "You should leave, too."

Yui walked toward her bed without another word. Chinatsu would not raise her head, nor could she bring herself to speak. Yui slumped into her futon and rolled away from Chinatsu, not withholding enough energy to care whether or not the lights were left on, or the front door would be locked. As soon as she heard the pink-headed friend latch the door on her way out and the silence of an empty household filled the air, the sickly girl pulled the blanket over her head and drifted off to sleep.

 **...**

* * *

 **...**

"Clouds?"

The redhead's expression entailed a childlike curiosity as she gazed over the horizon from behind the tempered glass of a car window. Indeed, there was a wall of clouds in the distance — very dark clouds.

"Oh, yes — I heard there would be a storm coming in tonight," The older of the Akaza children confirmed her little sister's observation.

"I see..." Akari was genuinely in awe of hearing this news, as neither she nor any of her friends had seen so much as a drop of rain for weeks.

Only minutes later, Akane was pulling into their driveway. Akari stepped out of the vehicle and felt a rush of cool wind, an unusual sensation given the temperature as of late. The two girls gathered their shopping bags from the back seat and headed inside.

"I'm sorry to run off like this, but I have work today. I hope you enjoy the new shirts we bought," the adult version of Akari smiled.

"Yes," the younger sibling nodded, then hopped toward her sister for a hug. "Thank you, onee-chan~"

"Don't mention it," Akane patted the child's head, her cool demeanor and kind smile unfaltering despite the inner turmoil this physical contact was causing.

* * *

An hour or so later the rain began to fall.

"Wow, it's really coming down," the redhead gazed out the kitchen window. It was a downpour, like the entire ocean was being dumped onto the ground. The rain was falling so heavily, in fact, that Akari almost couldn't hear the doorbell ringing.

"Wah-?... I'm coming!" Being home alone, she prayed it wouldn't be a stranger, or worse... a door-to-door salesman. Squinting through the peephole, she found relief in seeing a particular color. Akari opened the door without hesitation.

"Chinatsu-chan, what are you doing out in the rain?!"

"Hi, Akari-chan. Can I come in?" She avoided the question for the time being. Chinatsu's hair was soaked, matted down, and her poofy balls of fluff were presently nothing more than thin, dripping strands.

"Of course! Ah, wait here, I'll go get you a towel!" Akari trotted off with a youthful skip while her visitor removed her shoes, and afterwards, her socks as well. She was trying to wring them dry, awkwardly holding the front door open just enough to do so outside without being rained on, when her friend returned with the promised towel.

"Thanks," Chinatsu went to work quickly in drying her hair. "I didn't make it home in time, and your place was closest when the rain started," came the matter-of-fact answer to the earlier inquiry. "Sorry for bothering you." Politeness was typical of Chinatsu, even in the presence of friends; however, her tone was exceedingly placid compared to her usual self. She was melancholic, enough that even the often-clueless Akari took notice of it. A few silent moments watching her friend dry her hair passed before the question in the redhead's mind finally found its way to her mouth.

"Chinatsu-chan, did something bad happen?"

 _"...Heh, this girl sees right through me. I guess having no one pay attention to you can make you pretty good at observing others."_ At the same time that this thought crossed her mind, Chinatsu carelessly made a rather condescending expression toward her friend.

"...Hey, did you have a really mean thought just now?"

After this line the pink-haired one would change the subject, subconsciously avoiding the topic of her gloominess and, more knowingly, pushing aside her anger at Akari for being so damn good at reading her.

"Akari-chan, are you home alone?"

"Yes, for a few hours. We can go upstairs if you want!" Easily distracted (as expected), the young girl trotted toward the staircase happily, her damp friend in tow. Chinatsu's hair buns had by this point fully regained their poofiness, though her school uniform was still soaked.

"Let me find you some dry clothes to wear!" Now in her bedroom, Akari began rummaging through the closet. As she did, Chinatsu settled into a comfortable seat on the floor, cautious of letting her damp clothing drip onto the furniture or her friend's bed. "You can try these on," she said while handing her wet friend a plain white skirt and blue top.

"Umm..." Akari hesitated, unaccustomed to playing hostess while her family was out of the house. "...How about I go get some drinks, and you can stay here and change?" Chinatsu nodded soundlessly.

Moments later when Akari returned with the promised beverages she found the drenched school clothing lain carefully upon a laundry basket in the corner. The pink-haired girl (wearing her new outfit) sat huddled against the side of Akari's bed frame with her knees pulled to her chest. She looked like a lonely child whose parents wouldn't let her go out and play, who now sat pouting in a corner in disappointment. It was then that Akari remembered the only conversation she had had with Chinatsu all day at school, during lunch. Apparently she had been avoiding everyone today.

 _~"Oh, Chinatsu-chan, Akari won't be going to the club room today. Onee-chan is picking me up right after school to go shopping."_

 _"Ah, okay."_

 _"...Umm, also, if you go to see Yui-chan, tell her I said to get well soon!"_

 _Chinatsu hesitated before responding:_

 _"What makes you think I'm going to see Yui-senpai?"_

 _"Hm? Well, I thought we all would, but since I'm busy maybe just you and Kyouko-chan could go."_

 _She hesitated again._

 _"Yeah... That might be a good idea..."~_

Being as invisible as she was often made out to be, Akari habitually put some effort into thinking before speaking. The logic was that the better choice of words you make, the more people will notice them... That, and the simple fact that she often had plenty of time to prepare a speech before anyone would let her give it anyway. So when contemplating what to say to Chinatsu in this situation, the redhead quite easily deduced that her despondent mood must be in regard to Yui, and when it came to talking with Chinatsu about Yui the only rational course of action was to be supportive, lest the conversation result in death.

Akari crouched on her knees beside the brooding schoolgirl and, with a reassuring hand on her shoulder, asked the most carefully worded question she could come up with after just a few seconds of thought.

"What happened with Yui-chan?"

Like being gently shaken awake on a Saturday morning, Chinatsu lifted her head and relaxed her muscles, releasing the grip on her knees and in turn allowing her legs to stretch out a little. She then turned to face her bright-eyed supporter, whose concerned-looking purple orbs floated inches away from her own. The minimal volume of space between the two girls' noses held Chinatsu speechless for two or three seconds, but at the same time reminded her of how supportive Akari had always been about her crush. She suddenly felt relief, and showed it by wrapping her arms around the redhead at the neck and whining into her shoulder.

"Yui-senpai kicked me out!" the pink-head cried dramatically.

"There, there..." Akari cooed, hugging her friend in return. "Tell me what happened."

So she did, in her own, shall we say, _blunt_ way of putting things.

"Kyouko-senpai happened."

 _"Ah, so Kyouko-chan did go. I wonder what she did to get on Chinatsu-chan's nerves this much..."_

Being lost in her thoughts too easily was a bit of a downfall in Akari's personality, one even she knew of. So naturally for her, the words drifting through her mind were plastered all over her face. Chinatsu, of course, read them easily.

"She didn't really do anything, but... Akari, can I ask you something?" The over-the-top whining as well as the deadpan remarks from earlier faded to the back of the redhead's mind, and now Chinatsu's expression conveyed nothing but genuine seriousness.

"O- Of course." Akari sweat-dropped, becoming a little nervous as all the possibilities swarmed inside her head.

"Have Yui-senpai and Kyouko-senpai ever been... More than friends?"

The shock spilled out of her mind and flooded her entire face. Akari's cheeks went red, and she couldn't have hidden her surprise if she tried.

"Wh- What do you mean by that?!" She blurted without thinking.

"You know..." Chinatsu cooly crawled on all fours in front of Akari, forcing the self-proclaimed protagonist to reel back, still sitting on her knees and now resting on her arms which were outstretched to the floor behind her to keep from falling. The pink-headed devil leaned in to a threatening range, ready to torture the answer out of her friend if necessary. "Do they kiss, and hold hands, and stuff?" She tilted her head sideways quizzically.

"N- No... Um, I don't think so, anyway..."

Chinatsu maintained a deathly stare for several seconds as if she were contemplating the answer. Afterwards, she sat back against the bed, apparently assured of Akari's honesty.

"Hm, that's strange."

Akari was still recovering from Chinatsu's close-proximity interrogation. _"That may have been the first time in my life I wished I could actually turn invisible,"_ she mentally noted. "Wh- What's so strange?" She shakily asked while straightening herself back into a normal sitting position.

"Huh?" The pink-haired girl acted as if she were daydreaming, off in another world, despite the fact that she had spoken not five seconds ago. "Oh, just that when I went over to Yui-senpai's house last weekend some things seemed... odd."

 _"Chinatsu-chan was hanging out with Yui-chan over the weekend?"_ Akari recalled how she had spent the weekend mostly at home, without any friends, and she got that feeling of being "out of touch" again. Regardless, she decided to play along. Her curiosity about Chinatsu's radical ideas of a secret relationship between her two best friends was growing.

"Odd? Like what?"

"Kyouko-senpai's ribbon was on the bathroom counter, and her tomato pyjamas were hanging in the bathroom next to the panda ones. Yui-senpai told me she had left just a while before I got there, but when I asked why Kyouko left those two personal things here, I felt like she was hiding something. It just didn't feel right to me. I don't know..." She put her hands on her knees again and looked about ready to cry, a sincere look of hollow sadness mixed with anger on her face. Akari and her uncertain finger-to-the-chin pose were not helping.

"Kyouko-chan's ribbon? That is strange."

"Akari..." This time, Chinatsu did not turn her head. "I... need to tell you something." Her struggling words fit well with her somber gaze into the hardwood floor in front of her.

"Hm? What is it?"

"Yui-senpai and I... Are dating."

"Whaaat?!" Two bombs had now been dropped by the pink attacker within a matter of minutes. For a second or two, Akari looked like she was about to faint.

"Hahaha! You going to be okay, Akari-chan?" Chinatsu was in a fit of giggles over her young friend's reaction. As Akari began to gather herself, Chinatsu relaxed a little and her laughing affair subsided. "You looked like Kyouko-senpai would if they canceled Mirakurun," she commented with one last chuckle. "Thanks, Akari-chan... I needed that," she smiled.

Embarrassment and shock piled on top of her, but Akari paid them no mind. She was busy processing the flagrant claim her pink-haired friend had made, and trying to wrap her head around the idea that Chinatsu was in a relationship with Yui, and on top of that, Chinatsu suspected Yui of being in a relationship with Kyouko! It was all very startling to the girl in the group whose most "romantic" experience had been an unwilling one with the yandere right beside her. The redhead reminded herself of the apparent fact that she was the _only_ person in the Amusement Club (or, seemingly, the entire school) who did not have a major crush on somebody else... Except for maybe Yui, but it was Yui who seemed to be at the center of all this. Persevering through her spiraling emotions, Akari formulated a question.

"Since when?"

"About a week ago. We hadn't been able to spend any time together all week, so we made plans to have a date on Saturday."

Realizing the implications of this scenario, and all the work Chinatsu had done (and forced upon Akari) to get to this point, Akari couldn't help but be excited for her friend. It may be a psychiatrically questionable, obsessive kind of love, but it was still love, and it had won.

"Chinatsu-chan, that's amazing! I'm so happy for you!" The childish Akari's exuberance was not contagious. Chinatsu spoke again as if she hadn't finished, ignoring Akari.

"At first Yui-senpai seemed excited about the date, like I was. We were planning on where to go and when, and I couldn't have been happier. I was happy all the way up to when I got there..."

The pink-haired girl reassessed her sitting position, and decided to take a drink from one of the glasses of juice that had sat two feet away from her, untouched, this entire time. She remained in the spot near Akari's bed but no longer leaned on it, and crossed her legs. Her hostess did the same and leaned in a little, holding her hands in her lap, looking like a much younger child preparing for story time.

"So from the moment I got there, she seemed off, like she had somehow forgotten about our date, or... I don't know." Chinatsu turned to face her supportive friend. "It was like she was bothered by me being there, even though we planned it."

"You think it has something to do with Kyouko-chan?" Akari contributed to the conversation.

" **I know it does!** " Chinatsu jumped to her feet. Akari flinched in surprise for the nine-millionth time today. "She was there the night before, and something weird went on. I went to see Yui-senpai again today, hoping things would be back to normal." Chinatsu began slowly pacing the floor of Akari's bedroom.

"Wait, Akari thought Kyouko-chan and Chinatsu-chan went together..."

"No, I went alone, but Kyouko-senpai showed up. She was all happy, and... being herself. It... It pissed me off! And Yui-senpai was no different than the other day, just... uninterested. Maybe it's because she's sick, but how should I know?" Her pacing of the floor increased in urgency.

"So the date didn't go well either?"

Chinatsu paced around Akari one last time before flopping down, face-first on the girl's bed. Her voice muffled by the pillow, she retorted sarcastically — _"Oh yeah, it was great. We managed to sit in one place for a whole three hours."_

She rolled over and sat up, deciding Akari deserved a more audible explanation. "Senpai was coughing a lot and thought she might have a fever, so we didn't go out. We just sat there, alone, mostly quiet. It wasn't really a date at all."

"Wow, I'm sorry Chinatsu-chan. But... It's nobody's fault that Yui-chan got sick, it was just bad luck." Akari tried her best to be reassuring. "And I don't think Kyouko-chan has anything to do with it," she boldly stated, and almost immediately regretted it. To her pleasure and surprise, Chinatsu was not offended.

"Thanks, Akari-chan." The pink-head shared a warm smile, and the glow from it reflected in the redhead's features. "Maybe you're right, but... I'm going to find out."


	5. Practice

The question _"What are you going to do?"_ never manifested verbally, which Akari decided was for the best. The discussion of Kyouko and Yui in this context was unpleasant to her; the idea of _any_ secret, romantic in nature or not, which excluded Akari was saddening to the girl. Given her social status, the thought of being forgotten even more was making her uneasy.

Come to think of it, she probably would have regretting hearing whatever demented scheme Chinatsu had cooked up, anyway. All that in mind, Akari tucked away her curiosity and aimed to change the subject.

"Oi, China— _wah_?" Surprise intercepted her sentence. The pink menace had dropped her bare feet back onto the wooden floor and was now lurching towards the seated Akari with an absent gaze, akin to that of a zombie. Akari again felt the same nervous dread and mentally prepared for another suspenseful face-to-face encounter.

Chinatsu knelt down on one knee to eye-level with her innocent friend, maintaining a blank stare as she searched the glistening purple pupils. For a second, Akari thought Chinatsu was going to _kiss_ her.

Instead, she hugged her; hands around the neck, and tightly. The redhead felt her fear dissipate, but in its place, an unfamiliar sensation. Something tingled in her stomach when Chinatsu embraced her, and when the pink-haired girl dodged Akari's face and didn't contact her lips like she had half-expected, the protagonist was somehow left... disappointed. Not in the sense that she was begging for Chinatsu to kiss her — nor had she ever — but in the most basic physical way, she was let down. Her posture slumped a little and her heart sank, albeit less than it would if her friend had made no contact with her at all.

"I'm disappointed in you, Akari... You should be able to tell when I need a hug."

The tone was light, almost playful, but with a sincere inflection. Akari was speechless before, but now Chinatsu's words settled her down enough so that her focus was less on those peculiar feelings, and more on the fluffy and wonderfully soft hair invading her breathing space. Content to silently enjoy what her inexperienced mind decided was simply a friendly hug, the quiet girl spent the next few seconds holding Chinatsu around the low of her back.

Before she knew it the pressure around her neck was relieved, and the pink-haired member of the pair sat down in front of her, smiling. Time seemed to have come to a standstill, and the redhead did not have any idea how long their hug had lasted, creating yet another odd thing to ponder over.

"I like your shirt, by the way. Did you buy it today?"

 _"My shirt?"_ Akari was still a bit mentally absent, so it took a moment for the words to register. Once she snapped back into reality, she looked down, having completely forgotten what clothes she was wearing. Dressing her torso was a cherry red T-shirt with very short sleeves, and slanted decorative black lettering of the designer's name near the bottom hem on the left side. Lower still was a plain white skirt, mid-thigh length, nearly identical to the loaned one Chinatsu adorned. This outfit was admittedly more 'mature' than most of the redhead's wardrobe, but still simple enough to not clash with her personality.

"Oh, yeah. Onee-chan bought this for me~!"

"That was nice. It's cute!" Chinatsu narrowed her eyelids and smiled again, tilting her head slightly to one side in an endearing way. Someone unfamiliar with Yoshikawa Chinatsu and her _vast_ range of emotions might have sworn this cheerful girl to be a completely different person. Contrasting the vindictive attitude towards the end of their last conversation (and the yandere's snide judgement of a certain blonde senpai), the Chinatsu chatting with Akari now could easily be mistaken for a typical happy-go-lucky schoolgirl.

"Thanks, Chinatsu-chan!"

Noting this tentative change in mentality, Akari was tempted to bring up Yui. She did sincerely wonder about her childhood friend's well-being, so to question whether or not she would be back to school the next day would be acceptable, right? Then once the ice was broken, Akari could inquire more into how this relationship came to be, _because really, they hadn't spoken much about it_. Perhaps if the redhead were more self-aware, she would acknowledge the fact that Chinatsu and Yui's relationship had been revealed too suddenly for her: the revelation had stung her in some way, subconsciously. And that subject which she had been so happy to move away from still gnawed at the back of her mind.

 _"Why do I care so much about what's going on between them?"_

'Jealousy' is a harsh word. The purple-eyed girl's simplistic thought process used more common words, such as _curiosity_ , in its place. Truth be told, Akari was envious of the love triangles surrounding her, and yearned to be involved — this much she had realized long ago. It was the newfound jealousy more directly regarding the _person_ involved that she was only just on the verge of discovering.

The conversation had naturally paused, so Akari stole a glance at her friend. There were five seconds of staring, admiring how beautifully Chinatsu wore such a simple outfit and how much better Akari thought the clothes looked on her versus in the mirror, before the redhead completely forgot what she was going to say.

"Um, Akari-chan." The pink-haired girl was half-jokingly waving her hand in front of her own face, trying to illicit a response. "I was going to ask, are we walking to school together tomorrow?"

Daydreaming no longer, Akari contemplated the question long enough to remember how she wanted to ask about Yui, although she still did not know the less obvious reasons why. She did know that it was going to be a touchy subject if Chinatsu's anxious pacing and borderline cynicism a few minutes ago were anything to go by.

 _"Maybe if I bring it up indirectly... "_ "Sure! Just the two of us?"

The pink-head's expression seemed to drop a bit, though it may have been a fabrication of Akari's imagination.

"Yeah."

 _Now's your chance!_ "Will Yui-chan be at school at all?" For fear of Chinatsu reverting to an unpredictable emotional state, she wouldn't dare mention Kyouko. If Yui wasn't around, it was unlikely the blonde classmate would go out of her way to walk with the younger two, anyway.

"Not likely."

"Still too sick?"

"Probably."

 _"I see... She's being short with me about it."_ "Oh, that's too bad. Will you be lonely, going another day without her?" The youthful redhead tried to use a smooth tone, but it resulted in a sort of awkward, slightly grinning expression. _"Wait, she already answered my question! Why am I trying to force the issue?"_

"I think I'll get by," Chinatsu bit back spitefully; her tone was leaning toward the _aggressive_ side again. She sent a slightly confused, but obviously contemptuous glare in Akari's direction.

"Ah, umm, what I mean is... I- If you wanted Akari to spend more time with you, you know, to make up for Yui-chan's absence..." _"...Wait, what?!"_ Of all the panicking, stammered, impulsive sentences the redhead had ever spoken, that one had to be the most unexpected. _"Where did that even come from?"_

Granted, it sounded innocent enough... disregarding that she had just been told the girl whom she was offering to 'replace' was Chinatsu's _girlfriend_. Akari was backed into a corner, trapped in one of those rooms from an old movie cliché in which the walls are covered with spikes and they slowly close in on the protagonist. She only prayed that the implications of her proposition would go over her friend's head.

Chinatsu hesitated briefly before her left eyebrow shot up in curiosity. Her expression clearly portrayed every thought as the aforementioned implications occured to her. Just before the pale girl's cheeks could brighten up, she spoke:

"Wh- What do you mean by _that_?" The stutter was subtle, though inevitable. Were it anyone other than the most clueless, adorably innocent middle-school girl Chinatsu has ever met, she may have truly believed that comment bordered on flirting.

Akari explored her own mind for a few seconds in an effort to make sense of the past few minutes. First, Chinatsu shattered reality by saying she had begun dating Yui. At the same time, she vented to Akari her suspicions of Yui and Kyouko. After that was a bit of a blur, but then the redhead recalled hearing her own voice _mocking_ Chinatsu and her beloved senpai-slash-girlfriend, though she did not remember telling her vocal cords to do so. Then in an impulsive attempt to smooth-talk her way out of the situation, Akari suggested something rather... scandalous.

Thinking about that brought back the fuzzy feeling in her gut, same as when Chinatsu hugged her. Confused again and tired of being it, the protagonist thought hard about her emotions and the motivation behind them. She soon arrived the simplest and most obvious conclusion.

 _"So... I don't want Yui-chan to date Chinatsu-chan..."_

Thunder crashed nearby, just far away enough to not rattle the windows or send Chinatsu jumping out of her skin as she sometimes does during storms. Either the rainfall increased or the wind shifted, because now the roof above the bedroom shielded its occupants from consistent, loudly tapping water droplets. Meanwhile, inside the head of a rather confused schoolgirl, a metaphorical light clicked on.

 _"Do I **like** Chinatsu-chan!?"_

Speechlessness was commonplace to Akari. Blankness so enveloping that thinking isn't even possible was a bit rarer. Before this moment, Chinatsu's work with a paintbrush was the only thing that had provoked such a reaction. This was different than that; Akari's eyes widened, her palms began sweating, and saliva gathered up in her throat making breathing difficult. Externally, the trademarks were still present: her face had paled to near ghostly levels. In the redhead's mental image of herself, she was nothing more than a dotted line, however in reality her body was fully present, exposed for any scrutinizing eyes to see.

Making matters much, much worse was the fact that there _were_ two eyes in the room with her, judging her stiff form through uncertain cerulean pupils. Owning those orbs was Yoshikawa Chinatsu, who waited for whatever ghost or spirit that had possessed her best friend to be gone. Her lips parted to offer Akari some help with whatever had gotten into her, but nature had other plans.

Shockwaves blasted against the walls from thunder, much nearer to the house this time. The pink-haired girl quite literally jumped from her seat on the floor _directly into Akari's lap_.

"Kyaah!"

The pair of classmates were in close quarters once again. Every window in the house shook at once, and as the pulse of energy rolled away, the only two girls inhabiting the spacious home occupied a very small fraction of its floor area. Chinatsu wasn't fully wrapped around her, but off to one side, effectively seated at a ninety degree angle to the girl and using her legs like a chair.

The sensation of butterflies in her stomach and an urge to squirm away flooded Akari's senses. Why was being in contact with Chinatsu posing such a problem for her? The protagonist was at a loss for what to say, or what to do with her hands ever since they fell to Chinatsu's lower back and mid-upper leg, respectively, as a reflex when the girl hopped into her lap. She did know that if this kept up, she was going to be exhausted by the end of the day.

The object of Akari's internal conflict lifted her head and relaxed a little. While the thunder was roaring, Chinatsu had curled into a defensive position with her head down and hands on her neck, as if shielding herself from a threat. She then realized the source of the sound and its relative harmlessness, and returned to normal — save for the fact that she was still sitting on her redheaded friend.

As her mind rebooted, Chinatsu gradually became aware of her position, and more importantly of the location of each of Akari's hands — personal locations, and one's which Akari of all people would not typically touch. The noteworthy thing, though, was _how_ they were there: Akari wasn't simply resting her palm on the pink-head's thigh, but instead was gripping slightly. To Chinatsu, it felt like she was _holding_ her.

The nature of this moment flicked a switch somewhere in the yandere's mind; particularly, the switch that changes a sweet, kind schoolgirl into the type of person who _loves_ having fun at another's expense. She purposefully hesitated for a few seconds before looking her friend directly in the eye and grinning.

"You can let go now."

Akari's spine turned to ice and her heart floated around her chest like a hot air balloon. Chinatsu's pupils seemed to illuminate the redhead's forehead in aquamarine, and the way their eyes were close enough to reflect back some of the purple from her own iris made the nervous girl swallow what little saliva her mouth still had. Granted, these feelings weren't inherently unpleasant. The problem lie in dealing with them, which is something Akari had yet to learn how to begin with.

The pink one observed her prey from the vantage point of her lap, a bit surprised that those hands had not moved an inch from their original locations. Her grin shifted into a full-blown smile. As she was about to make perfectly clear, Chinatsu was at least somewhat aware of Akari's emotions. She was also not about to let the less experienced girl be shy about them.

"Hey, Akari-chan... I have an idea."

Instincts took over, and Chinatsu's tone by itself was nearly enough to invoke a fight-or-flight response.

"Wh- What is it?" Akari facepalmed internally for not having anything better to say after being soundless all this time. Seamlessly, with horrifyingly beautiful clarity, came the reply:

"Let's practice."

Briefly scouring her memory, Akari recalled the last time she heard Chinatsu use the word 'practice' in a private setting. Upon remembering, all her discomfort and fluttering in the chest vanished to be replaced entirely by pure, unfiltered fear. The redhead shoved instinct away in a valiant effort to level-headedly interpret the scenario.

"Uhm... P- Practice what?"

Two bundles of pink fell unsymmetrical as Chinatsu tilted her head to the side. First her smile grew even bigger, but then faded into a flat expression, and she closed in on her victim until there was but a millimeter of air between their noses. Sweat pooled on Akari's forehead.

"You know..."

Her grin was back, but different this time. It had a tilt to it; an inconspicuous angle intended to deliver a subtle message through those full, shining lips. Was it meant to affirm Chinatsu's seriousness, or to remind Akari that this was just for laughs? The redhead was not sure which would be worse.

The pink-haired girl used her hands to delicately redirect Akari's grasp of her thigh and back. Chinatsu slowly and tantalizingly placed the protagonist's fingertips onto each of her hips, simultaneously pulling one leg off of Akari before returning to her lap, facing her, wrapping her legs behind the girl and pulling her in _very_ tightly. Akari made no movement, save for those Chinatsu directed her through.

Chinatsu's right arm surrounded the silent girl, disallowing escape. Her left hand found Akari's chin and felt it, curiously tracing shapes upon the baby-smooth skin. Her fingers passively glided up the redhead's jawline as she spoke:

"Now that Yui-senpai and I will be going on dates, you and I need to catch up on lots of practice. Won't you help me, Akari-chan?"

She wasn't really thinking about Yui at all. It was an excuse, and Akari knew it.

 _"It was always just an excuse..."_

Purple eyes narrowed and her eyelids flinched, like an assassin about to take its target. Chinatsu foresaw retaliation, and the look on Akari's face for a second prompted the pink-head's instincts to flood her with fear, for good reason, she would swiftly discover — Akari had already taken hold of Chinatsu by her shoulders, and both girls were on a crash course with the floor.

The wood was hard and cold, making the girl atop her feel even more inviting by comparison. Akari was in the offensive position for the first time today (or perhaps in her entire life). Chinatsu was rightfully in shock, although her emotions were not at all of displeasure. Something about this turn of events excited her, and she almost wanted to think, _'it's about time...'_

Childlike, _good girl_ Akari was long forgotten (as usual). But this girl, staring down from as high above Chinatsu as her thin arms will hold her, light red hair draping, aimed at the floor like an army of needles, with her lips scrunched into an 'S' shape was far more in control of the situation than Chinatsu had ever seen before. The former attacker waited patiently for whatever action her friend was about to make.

"Chinatsu-chan, you..." Akari stalled mid-sentence. She became angry at herself for not finding the words which were recited so clearly in her head a moment ago. Chinatsu, in contrast to her deer-in-the-headlights expression, was subconsciously annoyed by the apparent fact that Akari was planning to spend this time talking.

 _"Just kiss me already,"_ the pink-head thought without realizing.

"You like me, don't you?" Akari asked. Her tone was not accusatory, and as innocent as always, with an upward inflection at the end like a genuine question.

At this point, Chinatsu's subconscious persona became as surprised as her face. Such blunt curiosity somehow felt cold coming from Akari. Naturally, it turned Chinatsu defensive. In a split second before actually verbalizing, she recited the response in her mind —

 _"Hahaha! I think you have it backwards."_

However, as the girl on her back opened her mouth to speak the sentence, her tongue was intercepted by the friend atop her. The sound of the thunderstorm rolled in gentle waves over the rooftop while pure white flashed across the windows, the same color that flooded Chinatsu's mind. Akari held her lips in place for a while with minimal movement — a relatively chaste kiss, but not entirely wholesome. Her tongue was in her friend's mouth, after all.

The intention was not to enact revenge. Akari couldn't care less whether or not Chinatsu's face when she pulled away would mirror her own glassy-eyed expression from the first time, when their roles were the opposite. It no longer mattered what conclusions her other friends came to after that event. She truly, honestly, just wanted to kiss Chinatsu.

The redhead pulled away. Some part of her did yearn to find a bit of a glaze over the pink-haired girl's face, but still not in search of vengeance; only as confirmation of mutual feelings. That assurance would be given, but not in the way Akari expected as Chinatsu opened her eyes.

"...Why did you stop?"

"Umm..." The girl on top sat down at her classmate's waist and threw a hand to the back of her neck nervously. _"Isn't that it?"_ she wondered. First one person kisses the other, and then what? That was the extent of Akari's knowledge. Her other half giggled and smiled, narrowing her eyes in that very frightening and very _Chinatsu_ way.

"Here, let me show you."

Akari's carelessness had backed her into a corner. With false confidence, she took the initiative and made a move before really anticipating the consequences. This is Chinatsu we're dealing with, after all. Akari was surely in for it now.

Reading the fear on her innocent friend's face like an open book, the yandere softly gripped the redhead's hands in reassurance. She calmly directed both clammy palms onto each of her sides, high up, near her chest, her expression flat the entire time. Releasing them, she next reached out to Akari's shoulders and encouraged the shy girl to bring her upper body closer.

"Come here..." Chinatsu smiled cutely. Akari was reminded of when she first met this girl, and how sweet and kind she was. Her pale cheeks were beautiful when she smiled like that, crinkling the skin beside her eyes and amplifying the adorable circles of a faint blush below. The redhead complied with the request, and the pair become connected at the lips again.

 _"Maybe this won't be so bad..."_

They kissed for a long time. Chinatsu's hands found Akari's hips as Akari searched all around her mouth with vigor, and her cheeks reddened with the rising heat. Chinatsu was content to remain submissive for the sake of savoring the moment. Every passing second felt like a major expedition to Akari, who was meeting sensations she had never even encountered in dreams; thanks to her energetic curiosity about these feelings, she was learning quickly.

A so-called 'sixth sense' alerted Akari to some looming danger, of what she did not know. She immediately slipped away from the everlasting kiss, breathing heavily and still very much invested in the "practice" but slightly more alert to her surroundings as well. Chinatsu's ascending brow and puzzled expression silently queried the reason for the separation. Akari's concern became concrete when she heard the distinct noise of keys being dropped on a counter, coming from downstairs.

"Akari, do you have a friend over?" The shout from her mother rebounded off the walls and up the staircase.

"It's my mom," Akari quietly confirmed in order to settle the startled Chinatsu beneath her. Said girl pouted dejectedly as the redhead skidded off her lap.

"Way to ruin the fun..."

Akari glanced at the floor and pursed her lips, outwardly sharing in the disappointment. This, ironically, brightened Chinatsu's spirits a little.

 _"She really didn't want to stop..."_ The pink-haired girl's heart rate shot up momentarily; Akari coming out of her shell like this was a new adventure for both of them, one that Chinatsu personally could not wait to experience. Watching her quiet friend's _naughty_ side develop excited her more than most of those fantasies with Yui as the star. Though now, of course, thoughts of her beloved senpai were as far toward the back of her mind as possible.

"We better go downstairs so you can say hello." The protagonist got up and reached a hand down to Chinatsu, offering assistance in standing. Chinatsu subverted those intentions and pulled Akari back down to her knees. She closed the space between them, sitting up herself, and kissed the redhead again. She firmly held the back of Akari's head, lovingly pinching locks of the soft hair between her thumb and index finger. Finally she removed her hand, allowing the girl to escape the sudden embrace while a smacking sound played from the spot their lips had been locked in. A light gasp entered Akari's lungs, and a short strand of saliva dripped from her bottom lip.

"I want you to know that we _will_ continue this... Later." Chinatsu said with intent, taking hold of Akari's hand again for added effect. The other girl reacted impulsively.

"What do you mean, later?"

"I'm talking about when I stay at your house tonight!" The pink-head smiled.

"Uh, wha— huh?" Akari stammered.

"My parents will be okay with it, and you can ask your mom. But my uniform is already here, and we didn't have any homework. So there's really no problem with it..."

"Hm." All valid points. Following only a second or two of consideration, Akari nodded, yet to fully accept the potential implications of this deal. And then came the feeling of butterflies in her stomach again.

 _"Is it normal to be so happy about this?"_

* * *

During a graciously offered dinnertime gathering around the table between Chinatsu, Akari, and the mother of the Akaza children, the question of sleeping over was asked, and approved with as much hospitality as would be expected from anyone with the family name. Chinatsu was beginning to see from where Akari and her sister inherited their affability.

Their guest, however, perhaps overwhelmed by anticipation of the evening ahead and still riding the high of the previous scene, couldn't curb her eagerness enough to refrain from sending Akari a very 'up-to-something' smile, in full view of her mother. Were it anybody else, the pink-head would have braced for the impact of a kick underneath the table. Instead, accurate to Chinatsu's prediction, the polite and gentle girl across from her responded with an angled eyebrow glare that screamed, _'Stop it, Chinatsu-chan!'_

Shortly after dinner, Akane returned home. Following the friendly greetings and preceding the two middle school girls' trip back upstairs, she asked a question, directed towards her sister.

"How are your other friends? I haven't seen them in a while."

"Great! Well, Yui-chan stayed home sick today." Akari answered, exuberantly at first.

"Oh, no. Is it bad?"

The redhead paused and tried to look at Chinatsu, who was standing beside her, without Akane noticing, as if to determine whether or not she could redirect the question to Chinatsu, who was one of only two human beings they knew of who had seen Yui today. As she could see through her periphery, the pink-haired girl was off in her own world, so Akari settled on answering by herself.

"Ah, well, I didn't get to see her since we went shopping. But I'm sure she'll be better soon!"

From Chinatsu's perspective, Akari's voice droned on as background noise. The conversation continued, but she had no part of it. In the hallway of her friend's house, Chinatsu was having a fit of shock. She had just been mentally slapped across the face by nothing more than the mentioning of her girlfriend's name — her girlfriend who was _not_ the person she had just made out with. Her girlfriend was alone in a small apartment across town, fighting a moderately severe illness while she had the time of her life _kissing Akari_ , and flirtatiously sealing dirty promises about the night to come.

 _"Where have I been for the last few hours?"_ she thought. She was certain it must not have been Earth, and this was some obscene alternate reality. How could Yui-senpai have possibly slipped her mind for so long, at such an important time? Additionally, she had been thinking about Akari instead. _"Does that mean..?_

 _..._

 _"...No, no way! I don't even want to think about it!"_

Akane waved a friendly 'good evening' and walked toward her bedroom. The younger sibling intended to do the same, but not without her best friend.

"Come on, Chinatsu-chan, let's go upstairs!"

 _"There's no way I could like Akari-chan..."_

"Chi- Chinatsu-chan, what's wrong?"

 _"What **is** wrong with me?"_ came her honest mental reaction, followed by her verbal one: "N- Nothing. We can go."

Thus, they went. The rainfall which had already began to subside was completely finished by nighttime. The lawn outside was full of puddles and temporary streams, quickly being sucked away by the dry summer soil beneath. The wind was calm, and through all hours of the evening a peaceful silence would soak the air in serenity. This silence was apparently contagious, though, because until Akari caught on enough to speak up about it, the only noises Chinatsu made were simple chirps of 'yes' and 'no' — but even those came as a whisper.

"Chinatsu-chan, I... I'm sorry."

The pink-head looked up with a snap. "For what?!"

"Akari knows... we shouldn't do those things... when you have a girlfriend."

Chinatsu and Akari were symmetrically staring at the floor in opposite directions. They were both somewhat ashamed, but most of all, unsure. Neither girl understood their feelings. Chinatsu briefly regretted asking to sleep over, but with an internal nod, she determined that she would have to fix things tonight, at least enough so that they wouldn't be too terribly awkward.

"Don't be sorry. It's my fault."

Akari blushed faintly. They each felt some relief from just the few sentences that were spoken, and after several more minutes of awkward timidity they were chatting again.

Over the course of a few hours, normality was all but restored between the duo. The events from before were still in back of their minds; Chinatsu especially was quite fond of the memory, but for the time being, those subconscious desires would continue unfulfilled, and externally, an unspoken understanding existed. The subject of the day's events as well as love and romance in general were willingly avoided until they laid down for bed, with Akari elevated by her full size bed and Chinatsu on the floor in a futon.

"I could go with you, to talk to Kyouko-chan... about Yui-chan," the quieter of the classmates said solemnly, mainly to express intention of redeeming herself as a supportive and platonic friend, even if only out of guilt. Staying outside the lines of this love triangle would have been a more wise decision, but... It was already too late for that.

"You would do that for me!?" Chinatsu's heart skipped a beat. Her reaction of wide sparkling eyes and mouth agape resembled a child who received every gift on their Christmas list.

"Yeah. I just don't want any of us to be mad at eachother..." Akari yawned out the final few words. She rolled over to her right side and faced the wall.

Chinatsu lay silently for some time, contemplating the mess she had assisted in worsening. At least Akari was willing to help her fix it —

 _"She is such a great friend."_

Yet every time the redhead did something incredibly nice for her, it further darkened the cloud of swirling emotions inside Chinatsu's mind. The bottom line, though, was that through thick and thin, Akari was always there to comfort her, especially now; Akari was one of the only comforting things in Chinatsu's middle school life. Speaking of comfort —

"Hey, Akari-chan. It's... kind of cold down here. Do you think... I could sleep with you?"

In place of a reply, the sound of an audible yet feminine snore filled the room. The pink blush from embarrassment upon Chinatsu's cheeks faded away, and she giggled.

"Never mind. I'll sleep okay."


	6. Control

_**Tuesday afternoon...**_

"Hey, Ayano-chan."

Ayano broke her death stare with the day's stack of paperwork to acknowledge her friend.

"What?"

"How was your visit yesterday with Toshinou-san?"

Ayano's bright pupils contracted into tiny dots, and her forehead gained some color. Such a spontaneous question caught her off guard, causing the respondent sentence to come out as an uncoordinated sprint, like a track runner with her shoes untied.

"Ah, it was fine! Nothing happened or anything!"

"...Oh, I see." Chitose replied with a sly grin.

 _"Gah, why did I say that? Damn Chitose, surprising me in the middle of council work..."_ Of course, the paperwork was only an excuse. While the vice president lamented over her choice of words — or lack thereof — Chitose unequipped her glasses and entered fantasy mode.

~ _"Ayano-sama, I'm so sorry I forgot to turn in my paper..." Kyouko purred, sounding unnecessarily seductive given the context. "How can I ever make it up to you?" She traced circles on the purple-haired girl's chest._

 _"Jeez, Kyouko... We can't do that here..." Ayano giggled and took the blonde's hand into her own._

 _"I like it when you call me Kyouko." She snuggled into Ayano and kissed her neck. "Say it some more..."_ ~

Chitose came to on the student council room floor, an unamused tissue-box-wielding red-speckle-coated Ayano looking down on her. Chitose hopped to her feet, seemingly unaffected by the copious amount of blood that had just left her body and found a new home on her and her friend's hair, clothes, the wall and the floor. She went on to cleaning the room as if an ordinary event had just occured.

"Honestly, though, I'm curious. Was she there?"

Ayano was more prepared for the question this time, but still went a little blue in the face at the fact that her white-haired friend could ask something so mundane while simultaneously wiping blood from her own uniform.

"Yes, she was there," she admitted, sighing noticeably.

" _Ufufu_ , so, what happened then?"

Ayano recalled the previous afternoon's events, wondering how to explain such a delicate situation.

"We just talked..."

The sincerity in Ayano's eyes struck Chitose. Ayano paused as if her sentence was incomplete, and glanced away from Chitose before she finished it. "And... it was nice."

Her hand pinched her nose shut before another spout of red could escape.

"Ahaha... That's wonderful!" Chitose's blissful tone was muffled by her efforts to restrict blood flow from her nostrils.

As it had occured, Ayano deferred from returning to the council room the previous day after her trek to the tea ceremony club room, in favor of defending the notebook Kyouko had donated to her. Said notebook now rested miles away on Ayano's desk at home. Chitose's knowledge of this gift was no wider than her knowledge of the visit itself: she hadn't been told about any of it. The two had not had time for more than small talk all day during class and breaks. But to think her tsundere friend would walk home alone, without a word, after a visit with her crush?

Needless to say, Chitose's curiosity was piqued. However, having studied the intensity in Ayano's eyes, she came to the rare conclusion that well enough was best left alone. At least, that's what the white-haired girl _would_ have thought, had one crucial factor not spontaneously occurred to her.

"You know... We never did get her handout."

In the midst of snapping the day's completed student council paperwork into a binder to be stored, Sugiura Ayano's entire world came crumbling down to a tattered heap. Externally, her eyes widened only enough for her best friend, who immediately regretted opening her mouth at all, to take notice. As if physically defeated, Ayano stood in her place and accepted her fate for another day of clumsy timidity in front of the only girl who could leave her speechless.

"I'll go," the purple-head spoke before Chitose could utter a cry of protest. Foreshadowing the emotional anguish this journey could cause for her friend, Chitose was sent into a guilt trip, albeit a brief one as all spirals of emotion in this girl's mind inevitably result in fantasies. Her glasses were off before Ayano even shut the door.

 **...**

* * *

 **...**

The heat was bad enough before, when it was dry. Now the air was wet and thick from yesterday's downpour, and as every puddle on the streets and every soaked blade of grass evaporated it hung in the air like a dense quilt. The temperature itself was as high as the day before the rain. It was the kind of weather that would make one sweat as soon as they walked out into it. Toshinou Kyouko normally didn't mind this kind of weather.

 _~"It's only hot because you say it's hot. Say it's cold!"_

 _"It's cold... I'm so cold..."_

 _"When it's hot, it's just plain hot."~_

"Tch," she scoffed bitterly at what was once one of many happy memories. As far as Kyouko was concerned, Yoshikawa Chinatsu did not care about those memories. She probably didn't even want Kyouko as a friend.

 _"But what about Yui..?"_

The Yui who had kicked her out of the apartment, when all she did was give her a gift? Yui, who told **her** to leave after having her gift denied and being told off! _After everything they shared that weekend!_ Kyouko snapped, on her feet in seconds. She refused to sit and pout when emotions got to her; she had to do something about it. That was what _Yui_ taught her...

"Dammit, Yui! Idiot!" She kicked the Amusement Club's table, probably for the same reasons that she wandered around town in the rain for hours yesterday; maybe if she broke her toe, the pain would allow her to forget about Chinatsu and Yui for a while; perhaps if she caught a cold she could curl up in her bed and wither away, forgotten. The truth was, there wasn't a thing Kyouko could do about any of it. She was alone in the club room. Yui was home again, likely coughing and sneezing all day. _"Chinatsu is probably there, comforting her... making tea for her..."_

The room shrank by ten times and Kyouko's breath felt stuck in her throat — feelings absent for so long, but all too familiar. Spontaneously, a voice rang out in her head. The voice seemed familiar, yet she felt somehow estranged to it.

 _"Your friends want nothing to do with you..."_

The voice belonged to her younger self — a trepid, uncertain little Kyouko.

 _"You're all alone..."_

She paced the floor, tears literally dripping from her face, circling the table and hoping for one of Nishigaki-sensei's bombs to go off, or something, _anything_ to happen that might free her from this mess. It was too hot. There was no escaping the gripping, clawing heat, not outside, nor anywhere else. The pace of her thoughts was shooting up exponentially. Her heart rate was quick and erratic...

She was about to have a panic attack.

~ _"It's okay. I'll protect you, Kyouko."_ ~

Yui's childhood voice rang in her head, and her hyper, shallow breaths became steady.

~ _"We'll always be together..."_ ~

"Yuiiii..." Kyouko collapsed onto her knees at the table, sinking her head into the corner of her arm, sobbing. She held nothing back. Her cries rebounded off every wall in the small room, hitting her ears again and making her cry even more out of her own self pity. For a long time, alone in the club room, she cried, loud enough that the door sliding open was inaudible to her.

"To-... Toshinou Kyouko?"

Ayano's mouth hung open as she lingered in the doorway. Kyouko's pitiful emotional condition immediately sunk lower at having been found out, but she managed to quickly silence herself. With a loud sniffle and an even less ladylike wipe at her eyes with the tail of her uniform's buttoned overcoat, she casually greeted her intruder.

"Hey, Ayano-chan." Surprised with the level of confidence her voice delivered, Kyouko suddenly felt a bit renewed. She even managed to smile slightly, the curvature of her lips contrasting the emotion of her red, watery eyes. Ayano came here because she liked Kyouko — because she cared about her; the blonde may have subconsciously told herself that, even though she often failed to consciously recognize it.

 _"Toshinou Kyouko was just... crying..."_ The tsundere's gut wrenched at the recognition, and the thought of it nearly made her begin crying herself.

"Did you need something?"

Having been preoccupied by this absurd situation, Ayano snapped out of it and remembered how awkward she was making things by standing in the doorway like a flabbergasted idiot. Her mind still pondered the fact that Kyouko was sitting in the Amusement Club room, all alone, bawling. In the meantime her mouth started making words, but her brain had no say in what they might be.

"Y-... You seemed really down yesterday, s- so I came to see how you were doing..." _"That was a lie. Why would I tell her that?"_

It didn't matter all that much, because Kyouko smiled. She locked eyes with Ayano and smiled, then looked down at the table and sniffled again.

"Sorry, but I don't have any drawings to share with you today. Do you want to sit with me?"

The ribbons which held Ayano's stomach in knots were snipped away and replaced with butterflies. Ayano didn't always like the fluttering feeling she got when Toshinou Kyouko was around, but right now it felt like heaven. She nodded before Kyouko's sentence was complete and almost cut her off with the answer.

"S- Sure!"

Neither the student council vice president nor the self-appointed leader of the Amusement Club picked up on it, but the former did not sit down in the way she typically would. Rather than keeping things symmetrical and sitting across from Kyouko, as would be most polite, Ayano chose a side of the table adjacent to Kyouko's. Not only that, but the purple-haired girl found her place as close to the table's corner near the blonde as possible, leaving the two girls only arm's length apart.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" Kyouko spun around and fiddled with the zipper of her backpack. Successfully opening it, she removed a single sheet of paper and presented it to Ayano. "Tada! It's that thing you wanted."

"There were two pages." Ayano's expression was as blank as the 'name' field of the page in front of her.

"Eh?" Kyouko looked like the definition of the word 'clueless'.

"Also, you didn't write your name. But thanks anyway," the student council member took the paper.

"...Say, Ayano-chan. Did you really come all this way just to... check on me?"

Ayano's face looked like a coloring book page that some kid decided to scribble over with brightest red crayon they could find. She was on the verge of mumbling out an irrational protest before her crush gripped her upper arm, stopping her dead in her tracks. The words _"Of course not!"_ were lost somewhere between Ayano's vocal cords and lips as she silently met Kyouko's gaze, which looked very kind and genuine.

"Just be honest."

So she was.

"No, not at first. But I'm glad I came..." Ayano flashed a faint smile at the blonde, for once portraying at least a little bit of the emotion she felt for Kyouko.

This made Kyouko happy, and she did not share her gratitude lightly. She squirmed around the corner of the table on her knees, wrapped her arms around Ayano's neck and hugged her, practically burying her face in the other girl's shoulder. Ayano did not change color this time, but she couldn't manage to move her hands from her lap to return the gesture. For the duration of the relatively long hug, the tsundere's entire body felt warm, her heart ready to burst from her chest.

Still, there was no speechlessness; no endless loop of stuttering. Ayano was elated, but externally, calm. After what a third party would have called the longest hug ever conceived, it was over, but it didn't feel like forever to Ayano; the moment was gone too soon. The absence of Kyouko's shampoo scent and feel of her soft skin made the purple-haired girl feel empty. It made her want to take action, and ultimately, to fill that empty space again.

"Was it Yoshikawa-san?"

"Eh?"

"Was it Yoshikawa-san?" Ayano's expression was more serious this time. For lack of any better wording and fear of being more direct with the question, she simply repeated it. That seemed to suffice.

"...Yeah."

The corners of Ayano's mouth curled downward slightly and her hands sat as fists upon her lap. Both girls stared at the table.

"It was Yui, too..."

Ayano looked at Kyouko and found her still staring at the table. Another teardrop threatened to spill out of her eye.

The tsundere was confident, as if she were being called upon and now was the time to prove herself. _"Chitose would be proud,"_ she briefly thought. Actually, back in the student council room, Chitose was proud, except that she was proud of the Ayano in her current fantasy and not the real life one.

"Toshinou Kyouko... You can talk to me."

Kyouko was no longer hugging Ayano, but she was still sitting very close, almost so that their legs were making contact. The blonde rubbed her eye and smiled warmly at the tsundere, creating perhaps the most adorable and heartwarming image Ayano had ever seen in her entire life.

"I don't think I need to. Thanks for being here, Ayano-chan." Kyouko inched ever closer to her wide-eyed classmate and leaned forward as if she were about to initiate another hug, but found herself paralyzed in the stare between the two girls, whose faces were now only centimeters apart.

"T-..."

In most cases, the scene would blur out at this point and whatever was _really_ happening would re-enter the frame.

"To-..."

Most of the time, the fantasy would fade away to show Chitose holding her glasses, smiling emphatically. But in this instance, Chitose was not around. And in this instance, Kyouko's lips were within lethal proximity to Ayano's.

"Toshinou Kyou— _mmph!_ "

And this time, in real life, Kyouko kissed her.

To say the kiss was long would be accurate. To say it was passionate would be an understatement. Kyouko immediately dove in tongue-first, as if her life depended on it; like a witch had cursed her to death, lest she kiss Sugiura Ayano as _deeply_ as possible in that very moment. Ayano was affected immediately, initially following up her moan of surprise with the paralysis of pure shock. Then a second later as her mind registered what was happening, a shuddering chill snaked its way down her spine, from neck to tailbone.

 _"To- Toshinou Kyouko is... kissing me..."_

Despite several beats of Ayano's unresponsiveness, Kyouko lessened her attack none. She was driven. Alongside a multitude of subconscious fears, in her heart the blonde felt _certainty_ for the first time in several long, depressing days. A prevalent anxiety, however, was of the tsundere's personality — that Ayano might naturally revert to her shy side and pull off, then sprint away while yelling some excuse to leave. But after five seconds of one-sided kissing practice, her victim had not moved at all.

A tingling numbess overtook Ayano's extremities. She closed her eyes, finally, and paid full attention to the tongue now completely between her lips, wrapping around her own and exploring freely. Ayano opened her mouth a bit wider. She caught the scent of Kyouko's shampoo again and gently inhaled through her nose to take it in, and while doing so, reflexively recoiled her tongue towards the roof of her mouth, pushing Kyouko's with it. The purple-haired girl tasted a unique flavor, one that sent her heart into a strange combination of the usual fluttering feeling plus a heavy thumping. She recognized this to be the taste of Toshinou Kyouko, and then realized her pounding chest to be the effect it had on her, like an aphrodisiac. Her cheeks were definitely red.

But the student council vice president did not care, and she did not run away. She remained on the receiving end, and the girl of her dreams did not relent. Kyouko's mind sparked with joy when she felt Ayano shuffle beside her, adjusting her position to lean into the kiss. And when Ayano breathed a tiny yelp of gratitude for the blonde girl's soft nibble of her bottom lip, Kyouko shared her happiness by wrapping her right arm around Ayano's neck. Both girls simultaneously, impulsively reached for the other's sides and began gradually closing the space between their bodies.

 _"To- Toshinou Kyouko is... really good at kissing..."_

Kyouko felt a heat surge through her body, and thanks to her recent experiences she was able to anticipate what might come next. A thought nagged at her, screaming about how wrong this was... _but why?_ Perhaps due to the intensity of the moment, Kyouko narrowly avoided realizing what — rather, _who_ — was infecting her subconscious and trying to pull her free of Ayano's face. If she had thought about that person, she would have been the one running out of the room, for sure. But she did not, and her thoughts now were all of the girl whose lips had been connected to her own for all of the last minute or so.

Disregarding her momentary lapse of focus, the otaku explored inside Ayano's mouth again; this time, though, the tsundere fought back. She pushed her tongue against Kyouko's and leaned forward, physically overpowering the blonde, who resisted minimally. It wasn't until Kyouko was leaning back that Ayano concluded her counterattack, only because she found herself impeded by the corner of the table. The sensation of solid wood subtly jutting into her abdomen surprised Ayano enough that she opened her eyes and pulled back, breaking the kiss with a gasp.

Ayano reverted to her most commonly practiced instinct, absent-mindedly eyeing the pattern of wood in the table while blushing so vibrantly it was as if a traffic light in the room had just turned red. At the sight of this, Kyouko smiled beamingly. Sure, Ayano was cute on an average day. But now...

A beat later, the purple-haired girl found herself comfortably pinned between two beautiful, shining blue orbs and the tatami floor. Upon tracking a drop of sweat as it fell from Kyouko's cheek to dampen a spot on her uniform's collar, the student council member saw beyond the bliss of this situation for a brief moment. She pondered how her mind and body could possibly feel so wonderful with the temperature soaring upwards as it was, plus the weight of another girl only slightly smaller than herself pressing her into the rough surface underneath.

Yet as Kyouko closed the space again all things which could be considered unpleasureable were swiftly disregarded. The blonde's lips around hers felt like heaven; her crush's saliva reminded Ayano of every sweet, sugary treat she had ever consumed, not because of the flavor, but the euphoric sensation from having tasted something amazing. Best of all was the way Kyouko's soft fingertips teased at the delicate trim on the waistband of her panties...

 _"...Wait, **where**?!"_

Reality intervened, and the _innocent_ partition of Ayano's consciousness regained composure. Her lower lip slipped away from her classmate's grasp, and a caring but firm push at Kyouko's invading hand was successful at dispersing it from beneath her skirt.

"Wait..."

This was to be expected, Kyouko reassured herself; Ayano's lack of experience was a hindrance, and she let her inhibitions get the best of her. Unable to see from a different perspective (perhaps blinded by her own hormones), the otaku convinced herself that this was the only problem. She grinned at her current lover, hardly suppressing a teasingly condescending giggle, before gently caressing the shy girl's jawline with her left hand.

"It's okay, Ayano-chan~

"I'll take it slow for you..."

It was all Ayano could do to not _melt_ under Kyouko's touch. Her body tensed up, and she really, truly wanted to give in and lay idly while the girl she yearned for had her way. But by trade, Sugiura Ayano was not even able to begin to express these feelings, and for that reason, she was in two minds.

"I- I don't know... Maybe... we should stop."

 _"Hmm, that was odd,"_ Kyouko thought. She was right — it would be considered odd by most how Ayano's voice stated _'we should stop,'_ yet the movement of her lips clearly portrayed the words _'keep going.'_ Soft yellow hair formed a curtain around the tsundere again as her aggressor dipped down for another kiss.

 _"Sh- She's kissing me again. But didn't I say 'stop'?"_

Kyouko broke the short-lived connection, prompting Ayano to open her eyes. What she found were the blonde's eyes, still only an inch or two away, scrutinizing her, as if gazing through Ayano's features and directly into her mind. Kyouko searched for the answer to an unspoken question, patiently hovering above her tsundere in waiting for any sign, _any_ inclination towards a yes or a no.

Ayano shuffled under her. She arched her back subtly, mostly to adjust and dislodge a part of her uniform which had become folded over and clung to her because of the sweat. The other reason — true it may be, but the only purpose Kyouko would take note of — was to bring their bodies closer together.

But this alone was not confirmation enough, even for Kyouko in the _desiring_ state she was in. Crystal blue targeted reddish purple once again. The blue eyes narrowed, showing expectancy of an answer, and quickly. Seconds of hesitation later, the other pair closed, slowly and purposefully, and then immediately reopened. Upon doing so, those purple spheres wore a look of determination. Instead of sensing nervousness from Ayano, Kyouko now saw nothing but confidence in her pupils. It was like the other girl had completely reassured herself during the split second her eyelids were shut.

Kyouko smiled and kissed her again. She very soon discovered, however, that Ayano's confidence was not limited to her eyes. The purple-headed girl sat up, holding Kyouko in her lap, maintaining contact throughout the motion. She proceeded to dip Kyouko backwards, switching back and forth between moving their bodies and burying her tongue more deeply in the blonde's mouth. Eventually through this practice, Ayano found herself rightfully atop her crush with Kyouko's legs between (and slightly wrapped around) her own.

Literally of course, but also figuratively in the sense that she had just taken _command_ of the situation, Ayano looked down on Kyouko. Her expression displayed blankness; every feature of her face, from the stare to the lips, was icy cold. Kyouko shivered, despite the absurdity of doing so in this climate. She was so taken aback by this turn of events, she couldn't even remember when they stopped kissing. Was Ayano just in a daze, or was this some hidden controlling side to her personality?

"Ayano..." By the level of shock on her face, one would think Kyouko had just met a celebrity. As such, there was no negativity about her tone; the otaku sounded excited by Ayano's sudden leadership.

"Kyouko." Ayano placed her hand on the blonde's arm, indicating she had something serious to say.

 _"Wait... Wait, wait, hold on! D- Did she just call me... **'Kyouko'**!?"_ Her eyes widened even further than before.

"You always tease me, but... I really like you."

Kyouko did little to contain her eagerness, nodding slightly as she urged the tsundere to continue.

"A- And I just think, you know... uhm..." Ayano faltered, reassuming an expression more akin to her usual self and looking to the side. Her nerve was obviously diminishing, so in the hopes of replenishing some confidence in her, Kyouko smiled. Her lips only parted very narrowly, leading to a warm and endearing smile rather than a large one. That seemed to do the trick.

"And I was hoping... that you aren't just teasing me this time, too."

"Ayano," the bottom girl cupped the cheek of her purple-haired pseudo-rival. "I think you are the smartest, most selfless person in our class. You're always willing to share your pudding with me, even when you really don't want to. And your Raibarun cosplay is the best I've ever seen!"

Until the last sentence, Ayano truly had the look of a person who was watching their greatest dream come true. Even after, that ecstatic expression dimmed only to a slightly less joyously surprised smile. The shy girl looked aside as a bit of embarrassment crept up into her cheeks again — Kyouko's desired effect. Doused with that purely tsundere mumbling effect, her voice was soft and gracious with the reply:

"Toshinou Kyouko, how could you bring that up at a time like this..."

 _"Aww, back to the full name. Oh well."_ This time Kyouko clasped Ayano's face with both hands, forcing the dark ruby eyes into the path of her stare as she reassured the girl of her conviction. "I mean it, Sugiura Ayano. You are beautiful."

With the gravity of the words and the proximity of their lips, a kiss was unavoidable. Ayano making use of her dominant position and tracing her fingernails northbound via the outside of Kyouko's thigh could have been prevented, but the blonde was in no mindset to hinder her tsundere's exploration. The same kiss as before was repeated, the only variable being the random locations of their tongues at any given interval. Kyouko used her thumbs to hold the other girl in place, indenting the flesh of her cheek as if she might float away otherwise.

Ayano found her crush's skirt and bravely continued under it, with both hands, on both sides. She slithered her tongue from Kyouko's reach and hovered above her, greeting her with that absurdly blank stare as if to say _'deal with it.'_ Kyouko wasn't sure whether to feel frightened or encouraged by this shocking personality shift. In either case, it was enticing, to say the least.

The only noises to be heard were those of the cicadas basking in the dreadful heat of mating season outside and the pleased and ragged breathing of the schoolgirl pinned to the floor. Ayano remained wordless and smooth as impulse and instinct carried her through the motions of an act which she had literally dreamed about hundreds of times before. She clawed far enough to encounter the waistband of the otaku's panties. A portion of Ayano's apprehensive character reappeared, but not enough to stop the progression; it did provoke her to raise an eyebrow in Kyouko's sight, to which the blonde performed the most rushed, eager nod of approval Ayano had ever seen.

Something directed the movement of Ayano's hands — what it might be, the student council member did not bother to question. Seconds later she caught the first glimpse of Kyouko's panties. They were white. The way she had pulled them down revealed a Charmander print on the front. Before either girl knew it, the piece of fabric was already down to her knees.

Ayano sat in awe of the sight below her: Kyouko's face was red, outlined in sweat, and her silky hair lay in yellow circles on the floor surrounding her head. The blue-eyed girl's mouth parted, still recovering oxygen after the last kiss, and bent upwards in the corners for a slight grin, revealing teeth as white as the white of her sparkling eyes. Of the same color were the childishly decorated panties around her knees, which Ayano's eyes drifted down to see one last time. The tsundere recoiled her left hand to her nose and pinched it shut, certain that blood was trickling down. It was only in her imagination.

"Hehehe... So, now what?" Kyouko put on an expectant smile.

Ayano gathered some perspective and realized how atypical this behavior was of Toshinou Kyouko. Here she was, the most energetic girl perhaps in the entire world laying beneath her, being passive — giving away the lead. Being _submissive_. Ayano hadn't intended to take control of things; it just sort of happened. But Kyouko followed suit happily, without qualm or question. Maybe this was the natural order of things. The purple-haired girl began to realize that perhaps she was the dominant one.

"Ayano?"

 _"This is actually happening... And I'm the one on top."_ The position she found herself in was quite unlike the way things went in most of her midday fantasies and (wet) dreams. Meanwhile, she sat motionless long enough for Kyouko to notice her internal conflict.

"You know, I like this side of you, Ayano-chan..." The blonde took hold of Ayano's hips and pulled the girl's midsection closer, as she had previously drifted halfway off Kyouko's lap. Their eyes met.

"I like it a lot."

Ayano swallowed hard. Her hands, which had been left dangling limply by her sides, were startlingly captured at the wrist. Kyouko redirected them towards her waist; she had plotted another line to motivate the girl above her, but as they say, actions speak louder than words. Ayano's hands were teasing at the tail of the blonde's uniform dress in the next instant without need of assistance. Intending to ensure her lover's continued compliance, Kyouko helped by reaching for the end of her own skirt and pulling it up herself.

Boldness was very unlike the girl on top of her, so of course the next move would come as a surprise: like a chain reaction, the input received at her intimate parts delivered a signal of pleasure to her mind, and Kyouko squealed with delight when Ayano touched her.

"Nyaah~!"

The sound was simple, breathy and low-volume, but from Ayano's perspective it filled the air and overwhelmed her senses. The tedious summertime ambience faded away to an angelic high-pitched moan, a vocalisation born in pleasure — pleasure which Ayano had been given the honor of delivering. Eliciting this reaction felt to her like the realization of a dream, and concrete evidence of such was her crush's needy expression staring up at her, eyes begging for more. The thought of it all shifted the tsundere's hormones into high gear, which boosted her aggression.

Liquid pooled over Ayano's fingertips. Kyouko held her skirt out of the way to prevent interruption while her attacker transitioned from docile touches into a heavier approach. It involved lots of rubbing, firing off each and every nerve ending of Kyouko's she could reach without becoming intrusive.

The bottom girl naturally recoiled her legs, bending at the knees but unable to spread them due to the article of clothing linking them together. Fortunately for the body atop her, Kyouko's legs were thin, therefore not much additional space would be required to fully access the area under exploration. The purple-headed girl hovered over her rival's stomach since the blonde had pulled her legs up closer, and was now forced to reach between her own legs and below herself to acquire contact with Kyouko in the desired place.

Kyouko intermittently gasped in place of regular breathing. Feeling the need to requite her partner for the intimacy, she adventured under Ayano's skirt a second time, her palm flush against the top of the girl's thigh and skidding quickly towards the center. For the second time today, she was denied; Kyouko's eyes were closed at the time, so she couldn't see Ayano squeeze her wrist and pull it away, but her mind painted the picture on the inside of her eyelids. In the presumptuous image the tsundere looked bashful, too embarrassed to allow Kyouko near her private area. The way Ayano had slowed the motion of her teasing fingers to a halt also implied this conclusion.

However, it was not the case. Kyouko met the dangerous stare of Ayano's imperious, hazy-eyed persona and her heart froze mid-beat. The passing seconds felt like the calm before battle, and during them Ayano pinned the blonde's formerly invasive hand to the floor beside her head. Evidence of the moment's intensity, the vague scent of sweat hung in the air; within it, Ayano picked out something belonging to Kyouko. The purple-headed girl lurched forward, leer unfailing, until her favorite face in the world was only inches away. One hand was planted atop Kyouko's wrist for steadiness and the other patiently massaged the skin surrounding her crush's parts.

The Amusement Club leader swore Ayano was staring straight through her just before enacting her endgame. Suddenly, her tsundere dove in, simultaneously assaulting two locations: one being the roof of her mouth via the girl's tongue, and the other a much more delicate opening, currently handled not-so-delicately by Ayano's index and middle fingers. From beneath the kiss Kyouko winced, discomforted initially by a more forceful intrusion than she had ever experienced beforehand (even in all her solitary explorations), but not from pain. Her imagination couldn't even conjure pain; her mind and lower place both _overflowed_ with satisfaction.

She spread her legs as far as her underwear would allow, stretching the fabric a little while Ayano prodded her insides and flicked her thumb about the sensitive bundle of nerves above her opening. Ayano curled her fingers and pressed deeper. Meanwhile their tongues danced around, and Kyouko sent praise in the form of heavy moans directly into her lover's airways.

 _"Don't forget to breathe~"_ Chitose's voice played in Ayano's head, like a guardian angel from her conscience sitting on her shoulder.

 _"Why Chitose, and why now of all times?"_ The tsundere questioned of herself. Still, it was sound advice.

Saliva stretched in strands between Ayano's dangling tongue and Kyouko's parted lips as they separated, yet the former never ceased her relentless attack in Kyouko's lower section. The blue-eyed girl wore a blush across her face and worked hard to say something, most likely of an impelling nature, but Ayano was having none of it.

"Yes... Ayano-chan, Don't— _aahn~_!" The dominant girl feverishly plunged into Kyouko's walls like a machine. The blonde recoiled into Ayano's touch, her back leaving the floor as every muscle throughout her body tensed.

Ayano carried Kyouko over wave after wave of rising intensity. The otaku panted in correspondence with her attacker's thrusts. Her eyes were squinted shut like she had just woken up and too much light was coming in, and she squeezed Ayano's forearm with her hand which was trapped at the wrist. The inverted personality of the girl above her remained displayed by her focused, authoritative expression; the toying in and around Kyouko's flower was just as dauntless. The fingers inside Kyouko overloaded her nervous system with bursts of blissful, euphoric sensations, and she practically screamed as Ayano drove her to the point of no return. The cicada song outside drowned out the yelps and moans for any chance passers-by — not that either member of the pair would have cared at the time.

" _Ngaaah!_ Ayanoo!~"

Ayano hooked her two fingers upwards inside Kyouko and the girl's thoughts turned to blank whiteness. She clenched her legs together; her entire body stiffened, and her knees pulled up until they pressed into Ayano's back.

The catalyst of her classmate's climax mercilessly spread and twisted her fingers slowly, torturing Kyouko and inciting a subtle twitch or spasm with each motion, lengthening the duration of the girl's near lapse of consciousness. Finally, content with the level of pleasure she had delivered, Ayano held still. Her uncharacteristically calm hand stayed in place, though, for what felt to Kyouko like minutes before the blonde was able to relax and cycle air in and out of her lungs again. Kyouko flattened her body against the floor and the tension in her muscles dissipated quickly, flowing with a glorious sense of satisfaction from her core outwards. Her strained facial features relaxed, and her formerly squinted eyelids hung restfully half-closed.

Ayano subtracted her digits from the spent intimate parts of her crush; Kyouko was too removed from her surroundings to hear the dripping sound that played. Ayano rolled off and both schoolgirls lay on their backs, motionless except for the rising and falling of their chests, seemingly equally drained of energy.

"Being the leader... Is hard work." Her panting would imply that the tsundere had been on the receiving end.

Through her own mad gulps of air, the blonde giggled aloud (or at least attempted to), which strained her breathing further. She was basking in the afterglow and steadily recovering from the shock of the previous events. The more Ayano opened up to her, the wider her smile became. When the purple-headed classmate reached over to grasp Kyouko's fingertips with her own, the euphoria in the otaku's mind multiplied. Together they lay while the cicadas sang and the sweat dried.

"You know, I thought I broke you at first... Your eyes were kinda scary," Kyouko laughed. Ayano chuckled only once and a blush spread across her tired face.

"I- I think you did..." Is what she said, though it wasn't what she intended to say; those damn vocal chords were acting on their own again. _"Seriously, was that even me? Toshinou Kyouko and I... We... I just..."_ Ayano's brain continued stuttering and trying to review the situation for a few more seconds before finally, she gave up. _"I guess I just need some time to think."_

Kyouko felt an urge to freshen up as the nerve endings in her skin returned to functioning status. She had been saturated with sweat and baked in a windowless room; a shower sounded wonderful, but more urgently, her panties — below her knees, still — were relatively dry, and would very much assist in the comfort factor at the moment. She made a motion with both hands to pull them up, one of those hands bringing Ayano's with it. Kyouko tried to slip free from her lover's grasp but Ayano held tighter, unwilling to let go in her exhausted daze.

"Ayano-chaaan..."

The tsundere looked over from her laying position to acknowledge the whining call and immediately freed Kyouko's hand, the color of her face like wildfire. She loved the feeling of the slightly smaller fingers laced around her own and simply refused to forego it, but she hadn't realized her crush was trying to do something, let alone that that something was pulling up her underwear.

 _"How embarrassing..."_

However, Kyouko shared not in the embarrassment and instead had a laugh at Ayano's return to shyness. All the while, the blonde unabashedly threw her feet into the air and slid the garment up her thighs, then planted her feet and raised her hips to finally slip them into place. Her skirt had floated back a bit during the process, revealing more skin than Ayano was prepared to witness.

"T- Toshinou Kyouko!" She softly yelled whilst sitting up herself to match the position of her rival.

"Really? After all that?"

"It's still embarrassing..." Purple hair flowed as she blew out the side of her mouth.

"No," Kyouko crawled a few feet closer. "I mean the name."

"Eh?"

"You should call me 'Kyouko'..." Ayano froze, metaphorically of course; sweat drops condensed upon her forehead.

"Uh, K-... Kyo-..." _"Come on, you can do this."_ This wasn't one of her daydreams in which she was finally called out on the name formality — it was real life. _"It's just a word..."_

Kyouko's expression faded into one of understanding disappointment. She hadn't really expected Ayano to pull it off when put on the spot like that anyway.

"Kyouko!" The purple-head blurted dilatorily. Finding shock upon Ayano's features, Kyouko's wide, toothy smile lit up the room. She leaned in and gave her tsundere a hug, squeezing tightly. _"I did it..."_

The blonde couldn't have been happier. The inviting nature of the reddish purple hair cushioned against her cheek was a little diluted from sweat, but it still belonged to Ayano; it was still soft and perfectly straight until the simple curl at the ends, and it still smelled like her shampoo. Kyouko was certainly feeling something toward her classmate: whether the feeling was the budding, obsessive first stages of love, or simply lust for more of what occured here today, she had no way of knowing. How can somebody tell the difference between the two when they've hardly experienced either?

Ayano was comfortably displaying personality traits unwitnessed before today — she didn't even seem embarrassed about some of them — and looking forward, Kyouko was beyond excited at the prospect of talking and spending time with her, not just to tease and elicit that adorable blush, but to really get to know this girl. Clearly, there was a lot to be learned about Sugiura Ayano.

Still smiling, Kyouko pulled away after a long hug. Ayano never raised her gaze from her lap.

"K- K- Kyouko... I should really get going."

"Do you have to?" The otaku's full and moistened lips bent into a frown for the first time in ages.

"Yeah... Chitose probably expected me back half an hour ago." That, and she was exhausted. Plus there was the weather, and the sweat-soaked clothing. Her crush was understanding.

"Fine, you can go. But, Ayano-chan..."

As summoned, Ayano lifted her head to lock eyes with Kyouko. Kyouko caught her with flawless timing and instigated a kiss. More appropriately, it was a full frontal tongue assault; Ayano never had a chance to return the favor before it was over and she was left gasping for air.

"...Come back soon, okay?"

The tsundere's heart palpitated and her eyes widened, glistening. She inhaled through her nose and, finally, returned Kyouko's loving smile.

"Will do, Toshinou Kyouko!"

And like that, she was gone.

* * *

 _ **To be continued...**_


	7. Reset

A raven-haired girl lay soundlessly, sprawled upon a collection of blankets which once resembled the shape of a bed. Her hair was strewn about in all directions. Her eyelids fluttered in response to the dim rays creeping through the windows, the color a robust orange, witnessed only at sunset.

 _"What day is it?"_

Her phone was inches beyond reach on the nearby table. Next to that, as she deduced through half-lidded eyes and a foggy mind, was a cup of hot tea. Alarm at the presence of another person in her apartment briefly crept up her spine, but was soothed immediately afterwards by a soft humming from the kitchen. The source of the musical tone was a voice she knew very well — it was her mother.

Yui attempted to call out, but the simple syllables she searched for would not gather in her vocal chords. Dazed and exhausted, but comforted by the presence of her mother, the sick girl summoned enough energy to lean forward for a gulp from the cup, and then rolled to her side and dozed off again.

 _~"Cut it out, Yui-senpai."_

 _Chinatsu slapped Yui's hand from beside the Amusement Club's table. Her tone was very cool and relaxed and very unlike Chinatsu._

 _"Aww, come on, I was just having fun," Yui retorted in a manner very unlike herself as well. Kyouko reeled back beside her, showing a fearful expression before nuzzling into Chinatsu's arm._

 _"Don't worry, Kyouko-senpai. I'll protect you."~_

Yui awoke with a gasp.

The very first thing registered in her vision was a blinking green light on the corner of the face of her cell phone, indicating a new message. Nearly all the sunlight had disappeared from the window's view, so the adjustment from a dark room to the pulsating artificial light of a screen was staggering. Until Yui rubbed at her eyes about five separate times, the words in front of her were nothing but a blurry mess.

Hard to miss, though, was the date and time plastered across the lock screen. Most startling was the day of the week: Tuesday. Last Yui remembered, she was laying down to sleep on Monday night after having tossed and turned for hours in a restless nap following Kyouko and Chinatsu's departure. She shrugged it off for the moment and opened the message.

 _~"I came to check up on you this evening and was surprised to see that you didn't have any friends over. You know if you need taken care of, you should call me right away! In the kitchen I left some tea and a quick meal for you to heat up. Oh, also, the school called and said that since we don't have a doctor's note, they expect you back tomorrow. If you can't make it, that's fine, and I'll take care of it, but things would be easier if you go. In either case, I'll come wake you up tomorrow morning, so see you then!_

 _Love,_

 _Mom"~_

Yawning groggily was a rested-looking Yui en route to the kitchen. She proceeded to reheat the promised meal, helplessly awaiting the droning microwave oven to prepare the leftovers which would satiate her eager stomach. Once it finished, the irritating and unstoppable _'beep beep'_ sound assaulted the girl whose ears had negotiated nothing but the calmness of gently ruffling bedsheets for most of the last twenty-four hours. She rubbed at her temple while walking towards the low table on the far side of the living room.

 _"Geez, I don't think I've ever slept so long before."_ Her limbs ached as they moved, and her muscles were happy to be holding her upright, finally. Yui assorted the past two or three days chronologically in her mind in an attempt to mathematically estimate the amount of time she had actually been out of it. Subtracting for the bathroom breaks (which were frequent) and the dry-mouthed expeditions to the sink for water (which were virtually nonstop), the amount of sleep wasn't really all too excessive; her body clearly needed the recovery time.

That time was very well spent, she began to acknowledge. Her thoughts were clear and concise; her body felt, for all intents and purposes, normal. Come to think of it, not a single cough or sneeze or sniffle had occured since waking up. She could consume her food without having to stop, wheezing and out of breath because her nose was so stuffed up. _"I feel pretty good."_

Yui returned the dishes from her devoured makeshift dinner to the kitchen and poured herself a cup of tea that had been kept warm in the kettle on the stovetop. She decided to fall back on an old friend to help fully clear her head and wake up: a video game.

She detoured to the restroom first, catching a glimpse of her own image in the mirror on the way out. Yui was occupied fixing the mess of black atop her head when she stepped on it — something in her path between the bathroom and TV. Startled, she reached down to paw for whatever hopefully not broken item had been lost in such an unusual place. The only source of light at the time was in the kitchen, forcing blurry-eyed Yui to scour the dimly lit carpet for several seconds before she found it: an unopened game case.

"It's the new Namo Quest!" After overcoming happy confusion, the less pleasant memories of her week so far resurfaced.

 _~"I thought it might make you feel better."~_

"That's right... A gift from Kyouko." A gift Chinatsu had denied the giving of, sending the expensive software on a crash course with the floor where it would remain until now.

 _~"If you want to yell at eachother, do it somewhere else!"~_

Yui had kicked them out, under a ceiling of dark clouds, without remorse.

"And I haven't spoken to either of them since then..." She pressed the fleshy part of her thumb into her forehead and exhaled. The perpetually logical girl began calculating consequences in her head, but the solutions were all obscured by confusion, as if the crystal clarity she felt moments ago had been stained by emotions. Solace was found in one thing, though. The gamer's go-to for relaxation and meditation was right in front of her face.

The Playstation hummed gently as its many mechanical pieces spun into life. The machine's owner opened the disc tray and closed it again quickly, already having inserted her new game and discarded the plastic safety wrap. Yui completed the installation and only made it as far as the main menu before, like clockwork, her thoughts began to align. Her mind may as well have been trained to clear itself at the mere sight of a video game, much like a dog that salivates in response to a treat being dangled above it.

First, Yui backtracked from her recollection of the incident involving the gift and recalled her conversation with Chinatsu beforehand. The half of her mind in control of her hands simultaneously started up a new save.

Her pink-headed girlfriend's arrival at her doorstep had come as a surprise, despite the predictability of it. She had invited Chinatsu in, who shortly afterwards made tea; it was a standard visit to a sick friend, save for the absence of the remaining club members. Akari's non-appearance was passed over nonchalantly while Kyouko's had been questioned more attentively.

The mood of the visitation had been easygoing until then, though Chinatsu's mannerisms scarcely hinted toward a sensation of contempt. Particularly, she seemed to be avoiding conversation, uncharacteristically quiet the entire time. This among other clues clues led to a confirmation of Yui's suspicions when she had asked her yandere partner for Kyouko's whereabouts.

 _~"I didn't ask her to come. I haven't talked to Kyouko-senpai at all today."~_

The first emotion occurring to her in that moment had been guilt: guilt partially from having spent a night with Kyouko over the weekend while all her girlfriend got was a few hours of sneeze-ridden boredom, but more affectingly from indirectly causing Kyouko trouble by making Chinatsu upset with her. For the sake of fairness in the conflict, Yui credited herself with an excuse: she never _chose_ to have a terrible date with her pink-haired underclassman. Nature decided that by giving her an illness.

An updated control scheme and revamped battle mechanics had the gamer stumbling for the first few minutes, but her instincts and intuition carried her to victory with incrementally less difficulty each time. She progressed through the introductory segments, casually disregarding the apparently challenging gameplay. The hero, sporting his newly acquired legendary weapon, set out from the starting village to begin an epic quest. A trace dosage of adrenaline pulsed into Yui's bloodstream in anticipation of this journey, and it was nearly enough to distract her from the flashback.

 _~"Chinatsu-chan, I'm sorry our date didn't go well."~_ As for the apology, that had been the end of it.

"Why didn't I offer to take her somewhere this weekend? Another date didn't even cross my mind." Yui chatted to the TV, as if the hero within might rebuke some wisdom.

 _~"It's fine..."~_

That was what Chinatsu had said, contrary to what her angled eyebrows had implied. Yui skimmed over it at the time, having been more focused on her next line — a sentence which hindsight revealed to be a careless case of speaking her mind:

 _~"But please, don't blame Kyouko, okay? If you want to be mad at anyone, be mad at me."~_

"Tch." Yui paused her adventure to free her right hand for use in placing her palm to her forehead. What was she thinking, saying that? As if the yandere Chinatsu would ever blame princely, unfailing senpai for _anything_. The sick girl had done nothing with that selection of words other than stir up trouble.

Simply by the breath of Kyouko's name, the younger classmate had slumped in discontent. "And then the doorbell rang," the black-haired girl sighed in recollection, her voice soft but still resonating louder than the background noise of the game.

After spilling out some old cliché like _'speak of the devil,'_ Yui had stood up and motioned toward the front door, never doubting the identity of their visitor. Chinatsu stepped adjacent to her path and tenderly gripped her arm, though, instructing her to wait.

Not even the sky on a cloudless summer day is as bright and wide as Chinatsu's pleading eyes were at that moment. Yui had stared back, a little struck, but mostly in curiosity; she witnessed that expression only once before. The doorbell chime echoed about the tiny apartment again until its sound waves soaked into the walls and floor, creating short-lived silence. Chinatsu had then broken the silence, as well as the mutual stare by blinking a tear out of her left eye.

 _~"Yui-senpai... I love you."~_

Emotionally processing the declaration had not been possible, as the final syllable was cut off by a third barrage of attacks via the doorbell.

 _~"Yuiii, it's meee..."~_

Yui had then immediately skated toward the door in a typical state of frustration at her childish friend's impatience. The pink-head must have put on her best face, because when Yui had returned with Kyouko in tow she was already at the table and clearly in an entirely different mood than moments before.

In the present, Yui suspected a boss battle soon, so instead of monotonously grinding levels in preparation right now, she saved and quit the game. The aggressive light from the screen in a contrastingly black room, now shrouded in the pure darkness of nighttime was making her eyes sore, and there wasn't much else to think about from yesterday anyway, save for the confrontation itself.

Given the circumstances (and bearing in mind the dark-headed girl's _infidelity_ ), the animosity Chinatsu had displayed in Kyouko's presence was relatively mild; if the yandere had gained knowledge of what really transpired during Kyouko's sleepover, the blonde would likely have fewer limbs... or worse.

 _"I wish I would have said something as soon as Kyouko showed up. I could have defused the tension and kept this mess at least a little cleaner than it is now."_

A manifestation of self-pity butted into her subconscious and told her, _'You were sick; it's not your fault,'_ but this only served to anger the stoical girl.

 _"Why do I keep making excuses for myself?! I'm caught in the middle of a fight between my best friend and my girlfriend, and it's **all** my fault."_

Without any conscious intention to do so, Yui acquired her phone and opened her messages. The black-haired girl's muscles might have gone through with typing something friendly or apologetic to send to Kyouko of their own accord had she not been yanked to awareness by an unanticipated message from Chinatsu. It apparently arrived earlier in the evening and remained unread until this point, likely unnoticed due to the much larger text from her mother sitting above it.

~ _"Will you be at school tomorrow?"_ ~

Surprise from this unseen communication collided with Yui's acutely overwhelmed emotions. Having steadily recovered memory of her relationship issues, she once again needed to force her fingers away from the digital keys to refrain from speaking on impulse.

"Acting without thinking is what caused this mess, right?"

Sure, she intended to respond to Chinatsu's simple inquiry — there was no reason not to — but Yui initially shoved that concern aside, naturally focusing on Kyouko. Kyouko, whom she had received no messages from; her best friend of ten years plus, who hardly left her side for the duration...

"A whole day apart without texting or calling me... That isn't like Kyouko," she said aloud, searching retrospectively for a time she spent more than twenty-four hours without receiving a knock on her door from the blonde. She recalled no such occasion. _"She must be mad at me."_

Yui's conscience seemed to be screaming, as if mimicking her own voice bitterly, _"Of course she's angry!"_ To take part in what the two childhood friends had shared over the weekend, and then be shunned and sided against by that same person would leave anyone distraught. Pile on that this was _Kyouko_ being mistreated by _Yui_ , the former of which was liable to be a shy loner were it not for the latter's guidance.

That was only half the complex, and probably the less important half, from a moral perspective. By performing those acts with her classmate, Yui had betrayed a commitment — loose it may be, but nonetheless in a basic human way, she had done wrong. Never mind the two of her best friends who could each be considered victims by their own right.

For the rare instances in which Yui was involved in some sort of conflict, more often than not her source of inspiration or encouragement in resolving it came from Kyouko. The black-haired girl relied on her seemingly immature friend, both emotionally and socially, moreso than anyone other than the two might guess. However, for this issue, light-hearted advice delivered through a loving smile and bolstered by beautiful blue pupils was unavailable. Yui couldn't even imagine what Kyouko would say to her right now, and such a rare moment of confoundedness left her at a total loss over what to do next.

 **...**

* * *

 **...**

"Was it Yui-chan?"

Akari reentered her bedroom from the bathroom across the hall. The notification sound from Chinatsu's phone was audible outside the door thanks to the tranquility of the household. Accordingly, it was also nearing Akari's predictable bedtime at which point she would become unconscious to the world for precisely nine hours.

During the redhead's expedition Chinatsu had changed into her older pink pyjamas, substituting for the black cat onesie which was back at her house in the laundry. She now sat atop her makeshift bed in the center of the room with her legs crossed, the bluish-white glow from the phone shining across her expressionless face. The flat crease of her lips divided to respond.

"She just said _'yeah'_." The pink-head loosened her grip on the device and looked up at Akari. One of her eyebrows bent downward slightly in irritation, like she had expected more elucidation from her girlfriend after waiting so long for an answer.

Akari giggled briefly, partially covered her mouth while trying to hold it in, and then laughed again, relatively heavily, in genuine amusement. Her observant sense of humor helped to brighten the mood a little.

"Well, what more did you expect from Yui-chan?"

The object of the comedy flattened her facial features even more than before, before relaxing the muscles in her cheeks in resignation.

"I guess you're right." Chinatsu slid the cell phone across the hardwood until it rested near her friend's end table, where it would probably remain until the alarm blasted through her eardrums in the early morning and she smacked it away from her head. She wouldn't normally rely on an alarm on her phone, but Akari was bound to sleep through hers, making them both late. Somebody needed to be responsible.

The host of the school night sleepover turned out the light and approached her bed. Ordinarily, she would have warned Chinatsu by saying _'I'm turning off the lights'_ or something similar, but in this instance was too preoccupied thinking about tomorrow.

"Do you want to go to the club room after school?" Akari yawned out the final few syllables. The lights were off, so as she crawled into bed her body began shutting down for the night, her high level of energy diminishing by the second.

"I don't know. We'll just have to see how it goes." Wide awake in comparison to her friend, the more mature member of the pair laid back steadily and covered herself up to her chest with the cozy blanket. "If I don't feel comfortable, I can always use the excuse that my mom wants me home, since I've gone straight to your house after school for the past two days." Chinatsu laughed to herself, partly because she knew deep down that if Akari wasn't asleep already then the next sentence would definitely be her last for tonight. She didn't have to feign surprise when the redhead rolled towards her, those two sleepily narrowed purple eyes reflecting dim rays of moonlight in her direction.

"Chinatsu-chan, I don't want us to stay separated like this." Her voice came out in a gentle falsetto — reassuring and honest, from Chinatsu's perspective. After a second's hesitation, the pink-headed girl would concede to her closest friend's aspiration.

"Okay," she sighed defeatedly before finishing. "I'll do my best to get along with Kyouko-senpai." The words stung her ears as she heard them come out. _"Only because you asked so nicely..."_ She followed up silently while staring at Akari's adorable, now sleeping face a few feet away.

* * *

 _ **To be continued...**_


	8. Reunion

"I'm glad you're back," Kyouko half-smiled, her eyes appearing dim as if she were sleep deprived, although none of her other features indicated such. Excited, relieved, or happy are terms that would _not_ describe her appearance at that moment. Nonetheless, Yui gathered no negative feelings from the statement either. Kyouko acted indifferent above all else, and the words felt more like they were coming from a sibling or elder family member rather than a best friend: genuine, but dispassionate.

"Yeah, the choice was between school and the doctor. It was an easy one for me."

"You sound a lot better, but you look really tired."

"That's what happens when you take cold medicine and sleep all day. I was up most of the night."

"Oh, wow." The otaku could have related with her own archive of all-nighters before school, but instead maintained terseness. "Do you think you'll go home early?"

"Nah. I took a short nap and my mom cooked a full breakfast, so I think I'm good. I'll probably pass out as soon as I get home, though." The recovering girl laughed a little while Kyouko reacted minimally. Yui prearranged to transition into a question about whether the club would be meeting after school, but the teacher had intruded and sat at her desk, signaling that the class cease conversation. Kyouko was still wordless after the last sentence anyway, so Yui figured the discussion was naturally concluded for now, and she focused fully on the lesson.

Being absent to start the week had left her with a lot to catch up on. The minutes proceeded by, quickly becoming hours, and through class after class she was persistent in completing as much homework as possible during the day in the hopes of being granted a stress-free evening at home. As the blistering sun rose higher in the sky, she grew increasingly thankful to her mother for taking time out of work to start her daughter's day right. Without the boost in energy from her complete morning meal, Yui would never have had the calories to burn by working her mind at such an aggressive pace.

Inevitably, though, she was beginning to burn out by lunchtime. The black-haired girl elected to eat in the classroom. Her blonde friend was nowhere to be seen, leaving Yui a bit lonely, save for the kind-hearted greetings and well-wishes from some of the other, less acquainted class members.

 _"Kyouko must be in the club room."_

She was likely alone if this was the case, as the underclassmen typically remain in the main building for lunch unless the group is summoned by Kyouko beforehand. Perhaps the club leader was waiting patiently in the scorching hot tea room, fully expectant of Yui's arrival. Or possibly — and more realistically, given the situation — she wanted to remain alone, away from the group. Thinking back on the morning, Yui remembered that nothing had really happened yet; they certainly had not talked things out. Minor paranoia decided for her that things would be best if she just allow Kyouko her space, if only until the end of the day.

* * *

An uneventful few hours later, during the break preceeding the final class of the day, the two childhood friends crossed paths in the hallway. Yui skipped a greeting and spoke, as if continuing their now half-day-old conversation like only a second had passed.

"I meant to ask, are we meeting in the club room after school?"

Kyouko froze mid-step and turned to face her counterpart, startled as much by the girl's presence as the spontaneous question directed towards her. She had clearly been spaced out a bit as she navigated the crowded halls.

"Oh, Yui! I didn't see you there." The shock faded from her expression. Yui felt comfort thanks to a slight sparkle in Kyouko's piercing blue pupils when the pair made eye contact. The brown eyes trailed down the blonde's face a fraction of a second later, stopping to gaze at her mouth which began to play into a small smile.

 _"Maybe she was just tired this morning,"_ Yui considered while anticipating the traditional goofy yet sincere expression of happiness which was forming on her friend's face. She began thinking that Kyouko might finally be happy to see her.

During the same instant as that thought, Kyouko's nearly-smiling lips contorted inversely, and she leered down at the floor. The weighted question that had been thrown over her head a beat ago began to trickle down into her conscious mind, and it did not settle well.

Yui caught on straight away; the explicit change from standard joy to a minor frown on her childhood friend reminded her yet again that the last time she, Kyouko, and Chinatsu were together did not turn out very well. _"It might have been better to bring up the Amusement Club a little less casually."_

By the time the logical girl processed these thoughts, Kyouko's expression had blurred back into neutral territory, as if the negativity had never even been present.

"Well, I sort of owe Ayano some pudding from lunch..." The otaku's words trailed off musingly, and she gazed without emotion into the wall next to them before wording her final answer. "You guys can go, but I'll be a little late."

Yui couldn't help but twist her lips in a questioning way. First of all, Kyouko transformed from a state of happiness, to disappointment, to complete apathy all in the span of about five seconds. Secondly, she had apparently chosen to pester the student council during lunch and pay Yui no mind — an act which Yui would not have thought impracticable _if Kyouko had said something to her_. As things stood, the dark-headed girl could not say for sure whether the blonde was holding a grudge against her or something different altogether.

 _"And what's with that wording?"_

 _~" **You guys can go** , but I'll be a little late."~_

So was Kyouko coming, or not?

"Kyouko, I really want you to be there. The club hasn't been together since last week," Yui affirmed pleadingly, with a hesitant touch a shame backing her words for the latter sentence. _"And I really want to talk to you,"_ she added mentally, although for now her primary intention was to bring Chinatsu and Kyouko back onto level terms. No matter what angle Yui saw it from, having those two in the same room together without an argument would be the first step in making amends, as well as assuaging her guilt.

With her head titled down quizzically as if she had miraculously forgotten, Kyouko answered: "Hm. I guess you're right." The bells chimed, dispersing a thin mob of students every which way. Yui huffed in discontent at having yet another conversation interrupted by an outside force. "Well, I'll see you later!" Kyouko scurried off toward her final class and Yui motioned to do the same, albeit in a different direction.

"Yeah, bye." Yui felt a disturbance in the pit of her stomach while watching her best friend trot away.

* * *

Thankfully the last class on the day of her return was an easy one, with the usual assignment being replaced by a detached lecture. Rather than take notes, Yui chose to finish some simple homework for another subject. On top of the work, she dug deeper into her brief talks with Kyouko throughout the school day in an attempt to diagnose the uneasy feeling they had granted her.

The blonde was not noticeably depressed, dejected, or at all offended by Yui's presence. By Kyouko's standard she was maybe a little calm or quiet, but she still seemed like Kyouko, without a doubt.

 _"So she isn't mad. I should be thankful then, right?"_

The logical girl, taking all these observations of normality into account, concluded one thing: something was terribly off. _How_ and _why_ would Kyouko **not** be angry, or upset in some other way, after everything that happened? And if she wasn't upset, then what explains the distance between them during breaks today? And why was she not excited to see Yui return to school, especially considering that it was apparently a surprise to her?

Kyouko's underwhelming display of emotion was a valid premise to be concerned about, but the dark-headed girl's deductions did not end there. The personality she had come to know so well may have been more or less intact, without seeming forced, but the mindset was different. Kyouko would normally be focused on nothing but friends and fun when the school day drew near its end. The situation on this occasion may not have been ideal in that respect, but rather than react emotionally or invest energy into returning things to normal, Kyouko repeatedly distracted herself from the whole ordeal, in a manner almost contradicting to her personality.

 _"Maybe I'm just reading into it too much,"_ Yui suggested to herself. After conducting a quick survey of the obscenely high amount of _doubting_ she had done throughout the last handful of minutes, she was sure of it. _"Yeah... I'm just overthinking it."_

The only thing to do next was await Kyouko's possible appearance at the tea ceremony club room. Eyeballing the clock is a bad habit Yui would usually avoid, especially with eagerness crawling around her consciousness and making the minutes feel longer; nevertheless, her internal sense of time was absolute in its certainty that the bell would be ringing very soon. She fought her impulses and refrained from glancing at the incessantly ticking analog clock dangling just outside her periphery until finally, having finished all the day's homework and organized it in her book bag, she caved and looked. Before the lens could adjust its zoom to pinpoint the minute hand, the sound of a bell answered her curiosity.

Out the door, down the stairs, through the exit and up the path. It was a completely familiar route which would be over with in no time, seeing as she had zero stops to make. Well, no _expected_ stops, anyway.

"Yui-chaaan!" Akari barrelled into Yui's right arm and hugged her.

More modest was the upperclassman's arm-over-the-shoulder return hug. Not many words need be spoken as the two had already shared their personal reunion, in between first and second period. Yui managed to recall Akari exuberantly welcoming her back, saying she missed her, and telling her a few other, incidentally, _unremarkable_ things.

"I'm sure that was a long day for you. Do you have a lot of homework?"

"None at all, actually," Yui smiled. Akari mirrored the gesture, fully aware of her determined friend's obvious hard work to finish everything in class. The duo stepped away from their waypoint at the bottom of the staircase and began walking to the silently agreed upon common destination, side by side.

"Say, Akari, how did you find me so quickly?"

The redhead turned her head, lifted her gaze to meet that of her long-time friend, and tweaked her brow in slight confusion. Yui simply looked back at her, suddenly a bit dumbfounded. The younger girl slumped, expectant of her forgettable fate.

"Akari always walks by here on the way to the club room. We see each other here all the time, remember?"

"Eheh... I guess I'm more tired than I thought," Yui sweat-dropped. Akari pouted and winced in the usual fashion, and most of the walk after that was silent.

 **...**

* * *

 **...**

Sugiura Ayano was deserving of her relatively prestigious position, managing the day-to-day grind of paperwork which defines her role in the student council with humble diligence. In comparison to her less focused crack team of schoolmates, Ayano was easily the hardest worker, discounting the silent president herself. She was never the type to complain, and always the first to buckle down and persist whenever necessary.

However, today was not a day requiring any extra effort. Actually, the council's list of duties on this day was so short that the two younger members had taken it upon themselves to spot clean the entire room — rather, pretend to do so while bickering nonstop — as a means of simply passing time. Chitose incidentally appointed herself moderator of the couple for when their arguments became too... energetic. Meanwhile Ayano scribbled soundlessly, solely handling some backed up forms from last week, seated in the corner chair nearest the door and not lifting her determined stare from the papers until every last one had been sorted and accounted for.

"Done!" The purple-head exclaimed while slapping her pen to the table. Chitose turned her attention away from Sakurako and Himawari, who were caught in a staring contest with spray bottles of cleaning chemicals poised toward each other's faces, and acknowledged her best friend who had hardly spoken a word for the last ten minutes.

"Wow Ayano-chan, you sure worked hard today~"

"Did I?" Ayano threw her hand to the back of her head and looked aside. "...I guess my mind is just somewhere else."

Glasses served as windows to midnight blue eyes which lit up with developing fantasies.

" _Ohh_ , does somebody have a secret to tell?"

"Well, I... I mean no, no way Niagara!" The tsundere's attempt at playing it off was far easier to read than she had hoped for.

Fantasy potential was growing exponentially, but Chitose found herself unable to reach for her glasses due to the mix of surprise and joy which had paralyzed her limbs. Yesterday marked the second consecutive day that Ayano had visited Kyouko. The contents of both encounters had still been mysteriously kept quiet, and when accused of holding a secret just now Ayano was reduced to blushing and stuttering.

Chitose's vision narrowed to exclude the underclassmen, and in her mind the only person on earth was Ayano. If there really was news, she would never want her friend's secrets exposed to the rest of the group, but by nature the white-haired girl became too invested in the conclusions her imagination was jumping to to consider that. She tried to settle her racing thoughts enough to ask a clearly worded question, but in the meantime the two remaining team members (or at least the _louder_ of the two) inserted themselves into the conversation.

"Wait, did somebody say _**secret**_?!" Sakurako leaned on the table dramatically, face-to-face with the vice president whose blush turned bluish at the accusation.

"Sakurako, try minding your own business."

Interrupting Himawari's scolding was the noise of the door sliding open.

 **"Sugiura Ayano!** "

"To- T- T- _**Toshinou Kyoukooo!**_ " The blue of her cheeks turned virtually white.

"Gah!" Chitose fell backwards, a fountain of red trailing the path of her head on its way down.

"Ikeda-senpai!" Both first years rushed around the table to assist their fallen member. The blue-headed girl pounced upon the cabinet to find a box of tissues while her counterpart tried to remain standing through the laughter, finding comedy in the blood coating the school's floor and furniture.

The background noise of the event served as cover for Ayano's escape from the room. She scurried past Kyouko into the vacant hallway, pulling the blonde outside the door and slamming it on her way. Ayano flicked her head side to side like a criminal on the run, assuring herself of the emptiness of their immediate extremity before she slumped and released her pent up breath in a relieved sigh.

"Toshinou Kyouko, that was really bad timing."

Kyouko snickered, "Heh, well if you wanted to escape, maybe I could take you somewhere..."

The reddish purple locks framing her eyes bounced, and Ayano twitched into a statue-like position as the offer struck her.

 _"Th- Th- That would be like a date... Sh- She wants to take me on a date!"_ One might think after everything Kyouko had _shown_ the tsundere, she should be more hardened to relatively mild surprises such as this, but perhaps her rapidly advancing relationship (not that you could call it that yet — at least not officially) with the blonde had failed to sink in.

The fire in Ayano's eyes died momentarily, though, when she realized a relevant factor. It was this variable which she questioned aloud before her mind even considered it — an impulsive and likely regrettable action.

"What about your club?"

Kyouko raised an eyebrow, but did not respond verbally. Ayano couldn't think of anything else to say, so the choice was between having an unbearable awkward silence or discussing this further, thus moving the focus from the potential date. She decided that since it was already brought up, she may as well explain the reason she was asking. "W- Well, Funami-san returned today, so I thought you guys might be getting back together."

Based on the convenient wording, the otaku's reflexive thought was about herself and Yui as a couple. This innocent inquiry regarding the Amusement Club as a whole had spurred another recollection of all her stress and misfortune; Kyouko had to remind herself that Ayano knew nothing _personal_ about the relationships and feuds being molded amongst the group of friends, and that she was simply asking a valid question.

Surely if Kyouko wasted one more second before responding, though, Ayano would notice her hesitation. Always the quick thinker, she decided to go on the offensive — an unfailingly amusing tactic against a tsundere.

"Are you asking me to leave~?" The teaser accused, sporting puppy eyes and her best mock-pouty face.

"N- No!" Ayano's heart melted, but the manifestation of doubt that had flashed across the blonde's expression an instant beforehand enabled her to recover from the teasing in record time. _"Dammit, Toshinou Kyouko. I'm trying to help you,"_ she said in her head, confidently reinforcing her motives. "I- I just thought... Your friends might like to see you, too."

The purple-head second-guessed her course of action immediately. She wondered why she had been just as attentive to her crush's friendships lately as to the girl herself. Confusion burrowed in her brain until Kyouko spoke.

"You're right." The slightly shorter schoolgirl stepped back, forfeiting her shenanigans for the time being. The complacent look on her face burned onto Ayano's retina. It was then that the vice president remembered, and all her questions were answered: Toshinou Kyouko was unhappy without her friends. Ayano could not stand to see her unhappy.

The doubt welled up in the pit of Kyouko's eye again, oh so acutely, but not beyond the observant gaze of her formerly-secret admirer. That unique boost of energy soared through Ayano's veins again, sort of like adrenaline but in response to emotional distress instead of physical danger. This time, her initiative brought her as far as feathering a hand lightly atop her lover's shoulder. Her confidence may have begun improving since the events of yesterday, but it was still limited.

"We can do something after, if you still want to."

Kyouko nodded weakly. She absolutely dreaded the discomfort of sitting in the club room with a spiteful kouhai, an inconsistent-as-of-late best friend, and the unbearable radiating heat. Worst of all was the creeping sensation of uncertainty: Kyouko was without a clue as to what might happen with everyone together again, how things would turn out on a larger scale, or what she needed/wanted to do about either of those things. Two days was not even a fraction of the time it would take for her to figure it out.

"I'll talk to you soon, okay?"

Never mind all those concerns; what about the girl in front of her?

"Yeah." Kyouko lifted her gaze which had been locked with melancholy to a tile in the floor. "Thanks again, Ayano-chan."

Ayano only smiled in return, and Kyouko was on her way.

 _"I hope everything works out,"_ the vice president thought, as if she had any idea what the problem was in the first place. Her eyes followed Kyouko on her somewhat dejected shuffle down the hallway. Ayano spun around to reenter the council room, and a thought occured to her.

 ** _"I just turned down a date with Toshinou Kyouko!"_** Her mouth slunk open in shock. She shook her head furiously, denying the evident stupidity of the decision, insisting to herself that it was the right thing to do in the circumstances. Ayano managed to settle down and recover her normal appearance before sliding the door open.

An inch beyond the doorway she met the deer-in-headlights expressions of three girls, somehow stacked on top of eachother, looking exactly like a sitcom eavesdropping scene while trying to listen through the crack in the door. The difference between the cliché and this setting, however, is that Chitose was the highest of the three, and the blood from her nose trickled down over the others making Sakurako and Himawari's heads like the levels of a fountain.

Conflicting the red in her face from anger and embarrassment, Ayano also found the visual undeniably laugh-worthy. It was over nearly instantly as gravity caught up to them, and without the door for support Himawari lost balance, leaving her accomplices to topple to either side of her.

 **...**

* * *

 **...**

"Ah, Chinatsu-chan is already here."

Chinatsu dislodged her chin from her sweat-slickened palm and looked across the room to view the intrusion of her closest friend alongside her girlfriend, and to her relief, no sign of Kyouko with them. She made a mental note to thank Akari later on for delivering Yui to her successfully. For now, she paid the redhead no mind and dove past her, greeting the upperclassman with a hug.

"Yui-senpai!"

First Yui was surprised, and then she was surprised by the fact that she was surprised. The couple had not seen each other for two days, and this reaction was comparable to the typical Monday morning reunion after spending a weekend apart. Yui also acknowledged that her arrival sans Kyouko must have immensely boosted Chinatsu's mood.

"Careful, you might catch my cold," the more reserved member in the embrace gently cautioned her kouhai after she had maintained the hug for a few extra seconds. She was the one to notice that Akari had stepped away and sat at the table during that time, seemingly avoiding looking towards the doorway where the pair still stood.

 _"...Was that awkward for her or something?"_ Yui wondered. Akari was never known to shy away from the yandere's advances toward Yui. That, or Yui had just never noticed it before.

"How do you feel?" Pink clumps of hair swayed back, adding emphasis to Chinatsu's genuine, curious expression as she detached herself from her crush's torso.

"Ah... Pretty good. Just a little worn out from all the backed up lessons I did."

"You look kinda tired."

"So I've heard."

The two carried on chatting back and forth as Yui filled Chinatsu in about her day, leaving out of course her disappointingly uneventful conversations with Kyouko. As they filled out seats around the Amusement Club's table, the couple took their places on opposite ends without much thought, leaving Akari at the side between them. The quiet redhead spun her head left and right, attentively following the conversation but not entering it.

Akari had made clear her willingness to help her friend (and had already performed the bulk of her duties by bringing Yui to the room before Kyouko), but it wasn't as if they had formulated a plan. All Chinatsu knew was that she must somehow get her girlfriend to provide an answer to a question she didn't even have; the best goal she could think to set for herself was to have Yui either reveal something, or ease her mind in some as of yet unknown manner. She was confident, though, because once the subject of their relationship was touched upon, Yui would no doubt be honest and forthcoming and _hopefully_ the unknown thing plaguing their kindling courtship would be revealed.

But suddenly, as was inevitable, the small talk had naturally concluded, and now the three girls sat choked to silence by fiery humidity. Neither half of the previous conversation had a book, or a bag to dig through, or anything interesting to look at except for the other faces around the table. There were no distracting activities, which dispersed an uncomfortable sense of tension to linger about their atmosphere.

It was an awkward silence.

Captured fuzzily through her periphery, Chinatsu noticed Akari swallowing as if she was about to speak. The pink-head's thoughts zipped through a thousand scenarios in a single instant and she deduced, through pure logic and knowledge of the girl, that she was about to ask Yui where Kyouko was. This would certainly close any window through which Chinatsu could possibly obtain her answers. By shifting Yui's attention to the blonde, a veil would fall over their secret relationship, and any discussion of it would be impossible to bring up. She couldn't allow it! Akari's lips parted, unnoticed by Yui because before she could sound a syllable, Chinatsu's adrenaline fueled her to an outburst.

"Se- Senpai!" Her eyes were burning a bright cerulean; her mouth dangled parted for a moment before she snapped it shut, her face like the concept of determination personified. She had heightened herself by sitting up on her knees, leaning forward and using fully outstretched arms pressing down on the low table for support. Yui's eyes widened a little in response to the sudden intensity. Seeing this, Chinatsu sweatdropped. _"...What do I say?!"_

"Chinatsu-chan?" Akari's expression was slightly more calm, and more based around confusion than shock. The pink-haired girl relaxed her brow muscles as she broke her stare with Yui and leered at the redhead, displaying just enough anger to send a subtle message to her friend. Akari was flabbergasted: her eyes went wide, her left eyebrow shot up, and her lips scrunched into a solicitous swirl. _"She's mad at me!?"_

Chinatsu sighed, letting her eyelids rest closed while doing so. She sat back down to a normal position, but her posture did not slouch. The other four pupils in the room were zoned in on her movements as she took a deep breath and released it steadily. Her eyes reopened in calm rhythm with the air coming out, the target at the end of their gaze again being Yui. The shape of her face indicated no emotion as she spoke.

"I want to talk about us."

"What?" Yui blinked several times in a single second. Her mouth didn't close fully after the word. For Yui, it was a relatively severe reaction of surprise. Chinatsu didn't move in the slightest. _"Now? That was so sudden."_

The dark-haired club member couldn't quite shake off the fact that innocent, impressionable Akari was still seated only inches away. _"Whether she already knows or not, I do **not** want to discuss any part of this topic with Akari in the room."_

Unbeknownst to the currently attending club members, only a few feet away and seconds from breaking the threshold and sound barrier of a sliding door was _another_ person whom they would definitely not want involved in this discussion. Meanwhile, Yui quickly erased the reaction from her face and prepared her thoughts before speaking. "Yeah, we can. Maybe you should come over to my place?"

Yui's back was to the door, so she didn't realize until Chinatsu looked past her. The sensation of a person standing behind her was secondary to the defeated look on Chinatsu's face, which clearly spelled out the identity of the surprise arrival. Yui could virtually see Kyouko's reflection in the white of her eyes.

By the time Yui turned around, Kyouko had turned to leave. The kuudere instinctively dashed after her.

"Kyouko!"

While watching her girlfriend step away, Chinatsu slotted her chin into her palm and huffed in discontent. She felt all energy and enthusiasm seep out of her core. A cloud of disappointment loomed above her, the amount of rain pouring from it heavier than any summer storm. The pink-headed schoolgirl was resolute in her belief that she had done no wrong, like she had played another perfect game but still found herself on the lower step of the podium while the other guy lifted his trophy.

Around the corner from the main space of the club room but still within earshot of the younger members, Yui caught up to Kyouko and gripped her shoulder from behind with some pressure. She let a paranoid fantasy play out in her head which consisted of the blonde shrugging away the contact and marching out of the small building without a word. Fortunately, it did not come to fruition; Kyouko froze in place and spoke before turning around.

"Go spend time with her. I had plans, anyway." Her voice came out small and undignified — almost spitefully, but too emotionless and blank to know for sure. Yui's reaction was a burst of adrenaline, as a sort of autonomous response to the anger and disgust (at herself, most likely) she immediately felt.

Kyouko wasn't sure if the words had carried far enough for Chinatsu to hear them, but at this point she didn't care much. Yui was obviously eager to spend personal time with _her_ and no one else, so it would be wrong to get in the way, right?

The thought of the most valuable person in her life blowing her off consistently — choosing someone else — flashed across her mind's eye. The idea that Yui would ease away from her, even over a short time frame, was enough to ball up the fluid in her tear ducts and express ship it to her cheeks. But Kyouko, despite the tendencies left over from her childhood, managed to overcome. She blinked hard, mopping up the still formulating tears with her eyelids, and inhaled through her nose. It was then that she broke free from her best friend's clutch. It was after that that she stepped towards the exit, shrouded by a cloud of unbearable silence.

 _"No, no wait, it was a misunderstanding!"_ Yui thought, unable to get the sounds past her throat like she was choked by a tight collar. _"You don't know the context..."_

There was a _lot_ of context, yes, but she hadn't been given the chance to explain yet. _"Don't just walk away like this!"_

The adrenaline boost coerced Yui into acting before thinking. With a feminine grunt she tugged at the club leader's sleeve, reaching it just before Kyouko escaped the range of her arm's length. The normally collected and rehearsed girl could only hesitate after that. Acting on impulse and out of ideas, she was forced to wait for Kyouko's reaction before deciding her next move.

The reaction was favourable for Yui. The blonde turned ninety degrees; not far enough to make eye contact, but perhaps implying a change of heart about leaving. The dark-haired girl proceeded to make the choice for her.

"Come on." She pulled that sleeve in the direction of the inner doorway, only with the strength of her thumb and index finger at first.

"Yui— _stop!_ " Kyouko interjected upon herself as the grip of her uniform fastened. Yui now possessed the entire sleeve in her fist, leaving Kyouko's slightly inferior strength and greatly diminished willpower no chance of backing out any longer.

"Club meeting, now."

"I don't _wanna_!" the often childish girl whined. If it had crossed her mind, Kyouko would have probably been embarrassed at exposing a snippet of her _old_ behavior to Chinatsu. She was, however, far beyond the emotional maturity of a preschooler, and the anger Yui feared earlier was now evident in her tone. Yui could not tell for sure whether it was real anger or a mock anger masking another emotion, though her powers of deduction led her to the latter conclusion. In any case, Kyouko continued stepping along behind the girl with relatively little physical resistance.

By the time their one-sided return was over, Kyouko had visibly resigned herself to the fact that her attendance at this so-called "meeting" was unavoidable. Yui played the cool side of her personality and sat at her previous seat without a word. This left the otaku stuck nearby, the only one still standing, flustered by Yui's momentary aggression and now stricken from movement by apprehension. Chinatsu, who was still sitting on the far end of the room, averted her eyes out of antipathy. Kyouko avoided looking her way as well, but moreso because of the fear of what she might see on the yandere's face if they were to make eye contact. It was as if Kyouko's sense of self-preservation painted a black bar across Chinatsu for her own protection.

Kyouko pensively waded through the damp air to what the process of elimination had elected as her seat, and lowered her backside to the floor carefully as if a bomb might go off with any sudden movement. Yui sat with her back perfectly upright, her face the typical blank, her eyes half-lidded. Chinatsu's head aimed in the furthest direction away from Kyouko it could, toward the wall on her left. The pink-head seemingly basked in a fuming aura of contempt, though the upperclassman wouldn't dare bring her into focus enough to confirm the expression.

Akari was the only one looking up, doing so with quite a standard expression of interest or curiosity. The practically invisible girl nervously awaited Kyouko's next action. She recognized Chinatsu's absolute disgust at how this entire situation was unfolding, and experienced guilt for being so useless in remedying it. Akari would have never imagined the club's reunion to be so tense.

 _"This is bad..."_

* * *

 _ **To be continued...**_


	9. Respite

Gathering her emotions, Kyouko realized that jealousy had built up inside her to the point at which her thoughts became erratic. In her head she was throwing a fit. Vibrant as the blue hue flooding the sky, her iris masked themselves via eyelids for a fraction longer than a standard blink. Within the dreary fantasy her imagination manufactured, Kyouko was screaming in the face of the devil's pink incarnation, then turning and pleading with her childhood friend for answers, tugging at her sleeves to illicit any sort of reaction.

Outwardly, the room was silent. The stifling tension of the moment impacted the blonde and held her from speaking when her eyes reopened. Her subconscious was doing everything in its power to drag her away from this place, yet Kyouko still could not escape paralysis. She chewed at her lip and squeezed her fingers into even tighter fists underneath the table.

Opposite her was Akari, whose observant nature was one-sided as ever. While the other three angles in this square were all internally negotiating their own emotions, and their own problems with one another, Akari was reduced to a forgotten bystander. Times like these were rare: rather than the more common outright exclusion of her which she could do nothing about, she _could_ speak up now if she wanted to, because apparently nobody else would. The redhead saw the absence of dialogue as an opportunity to shine. It may seem selfish to play on the awkward situation for personal benefit, but Akari moreso wanted to help her friends. It was this primary motive — the desire to break the tension — that drove her to speak.

"So, uh... Club meeting?"

Two of the other three members (the two on either side of her) expressed their typical reaction, in unison.

"You're still here!?"

Akari brushed away the frustration of being forgotten almost immediately because, according to plan, she had their attention. Chinatsu was no less gloomy than before, and Yui no more enlivened, but at least their heads were up. The majority of eyes were on the protagonist; she had to take advantage.

"Hey, I know..." She twisted around and stretched for her backpack, sliding the front zipper and displaying a pack of playing cards. "Let's play memory!"

A portion of Chinatsu's earlier disgust left her via a discontented huff. Her facial features flattened in response to Akari's desperate and obvious attempts to lighten the aura of the room. She would have to admit that it was somewhat effective, though the pink-head was unsure whether she wanted the group to move on just yet. Sadistically observing all the stress linger above her blonde senpai had been doing well to rebuild Chinatsu's fleeting confidence.

Meanwhile, Kyouko shifted her focus toward her older childhood friend, anticipating some form of protest against the sudden change of subject; Yui was the one who insisted upon the club meeting, after all. None was given. On the contrary, Yui seemed eager to change subjects; she silently assisted Akari in laying out the cards.

"Alright, I'll go first!" The youthful girl initiated the game, and her unenthusiastic counterparts followed suit. Akari effectively narrated the simple card game, sharing her emotions about every turn with remarks like "Good one!" and "So close!" despite the relative apathy of her club mates. It was as if Akari boosted her level of energy enough to make up for everyone else's subdued moods.

Turn after turn, time after time around the table, Akari noticed her friends' expressions brightening up. Chinatsu, who had originally been seated with her cheek lodged so deeply into her palm that there would no doubt be a permanent round red mark on her face, now sat upright with her eyelids parted fully, truly putting some focus into the task at hand. Kyouko had transitioned from flipping two completely random cards in order to finish her turn as quickly as possible, to applying effort into remembering the locations of each one as to actually compete in the game. It may be in the back of her mind, with the persistent discomfort of the current situation dominating the foreground, but still: the otaku captured the narrowest glimpse of the enjoyment that comes from playing a game with her friends, a sensation recently forgotten behind all the drama.

Yui, contrarily, was reversing out of her satisfaction with the gameplay. The lengthy waking period induced by her illness-regulated sleep cycle was beginning to take its toll, and her body began a slow descent into drowsiness. Though she had been at peak awareness only moments ago, she found her liveliness diminishing with the passage of minutes.

Six cards remained as the play passed to her. Yui lazily flipped one before groggily snatching at another without much thought. No pair was completed. Kyouko immediately lifted her gaze above the table for the first time since she sat down in order to send Yui a questioning look, molding slight surprise and confusion into one subtle angle of the lips and brow.

"...What?"

Kyouko's answer came in the method of turning over that same card as well as its matching counterpart simultaneously, with both hands.

"O- Oh..." The typically observant character blinked several times, trying to fathom how she had overlooked what was evidently an obvious solution.

"Eheh, I think everybody but you knew where that pair was, Yui-chan," Akari announced.

"Yeah... I am getting tired. Maybe I should call it a day after this."

The blue-eyed girl adjacent to her sighed in relief, subtly enough to avoid the recognition of everyone but Akari. Chinatsu withheld any verbal outburst, despite her persistent failure in planning that much-needed private talk with her girlfriend. All things considered, moving on from such a socially unpleasant club congregation was the unanimous goal.

"Will you be alright walking home alone?" The now outspoken redhead wondered as if to finalise the point, or perhaps to suggest something. If she were trying to make a suggestion, it would have to be considered shot down by Yui's unhesitant response:

"I'll be fine. It isn't that far."

No club member showed any signs of objection to Yui walking home independently. Meanwhile, secondary to the exchange of words was Kyouko's next move. With how little attention the usually hyper blonde was garnering in her current mood, she probably could have gotten away with cheating... Or so she thought, before she noticed Chinatsu imperiously eyeing her hands as they entered the playing area. Perhaps distracted by this, or simply distracted in a greater sense, Kyouko grabbed at the wrong card. Her chances of winning vanished in an instant.

 _"...Really?"_ She huffed at herself. The petite frame slumped again as her vision drooped down to the floor.

Chinatsu then flipped the final two successive pairs with nonchalant grace, snatching the win. The pink-haired girl prayed that this may serve as a metaphor for a return on her karma, and a baby step of momentum in a direction favourable to her.

Within seconds of the conclusion of the only activity stringing the so-called _meeting_ along, the Amusement Club was silently adjourned. Akari swiftly swept up the cards whilst her friends equipped their book bags and belongings. The schoolmates filed out the door in loose formation before splitting off in their unique directions, each girl expressing her goodbye with brevity.

Yui did walk home alone. For the duration of the journey, her eyelids drooped over dispassionate pupils which contracted to repel the onslaught of photons being delivered by the unobstructed sun. The reserved schoolgirl followed a path so quotidian she found it effortless to invest all her spatial awareness into her thoughts rather than the mundane visuals of the familiar sidewalk.

Each unique expression Kyouko had made throughout the day, beginning from the first greeting that morning and through the parting of ways just minutes ago, visualized successively in Yui's memory. She analyzed all the data she could, not frantically or desperately, but with her standard calm methodology, like a computer performing a daily software update. She searched the most within her recollection of Kyouko's attempted escape from the club room. As the same several second long scene looped endlessly in her head, guilt surmounted the sense of accomplishment in Yui's judgement.

 _"That was probably the last situation Kyouko wanted to be in,"_ The raven-headed girl thought as an all too familiar feeling of failure washed over her. _"I really put her in an awkward spot... Not for the first time, either."_

Funami Yui proceeded physically walking and mentally berating herself. She had swallowed more regrets in the past week than perhaps in her whole life previously, and for that she was, ironically, regretful. One action to not lament, though, was the setting of her thermostat this morning. The blast of temperate air in her doorway immediately reminded the recovering girl that her home would shield her from the brutal climate.

Synchronised with the click of the deadbolt, Yui's mind switched into a low-power mode. Spent extremities rehearsed the paces of a bedtime ritual and in no time, she met the mattress. Her final coherent thoughts before sleep were optimistic: she looked forward to awakening early and witnessing the sunrise, and the potential for a fresh start it always portrays.

 **...**

* * *

 **...**

The dawn of a new day seemed to breathe refreshing enthusiasm into at least one individual. Chinatsu trotted determinedly unto the doorstep of her most loyal friend and poked the doorbell button. To her surprise Akari emerged fully uniformed, lively, and ready to depart. To the redhead's surprise, Chinatsu's first expression on the day was a playful smile.

"Wow, we might actually make it on time today!"

"Very funny, Chinatsu-chan," Akari mimicked laughter. "You know, Akari can be responsible sometimes."

"Mh. _Sometimes_. Let's go!"

As truth would have it, Akari was so exhausted by the tension the afternoon before that she had fallen asleep early. The youthful girl's typical bedtime was comparatively premature to begin with, so needless to say, she was very well rested on this Thursday morning. The classmates walked shoulder-to-shoulder in the direction of their school.

A soothing breeze refreshed all those who were lucky enough to be out so early. As the ball of distant orange embers floated ever higher above the horizon, its energy melded with the cool air currents to create an unusually relaxing atmosphere, therapeutically warm and invigoratingly chilled at the same time. It helped Akari immensely. The unspoken war in the Amusement Club yesterday had left her head swirling with questions and aching in disappointment.

Essentially, not one goal she and her pink-haired friend had set in place beforehand was achieved. The desires to schedule a private talk with Yui remained unfulfilled. Still, despite all that, Chinatsu appeared cheerfully insouciant on this walk. They traversed over half the distance without a word being spoken.

 _"Maybe I should bring it up,"_ Akari deduced of her own accord. _"It would be nice to talk things through, so hopefully they don't have a repeat of yesterday..."_ The memory of Kyouko walking in at the most inopportune time replayed, and it gave her an idea.

"Hey, Chinatsu-chan. What's the plan today?"

Chinatsu's previously perky pupils fell to the ground as the implications of the question impacted her. She mumbled in reply, like a grumbling child upset with its parents.

"I don't know. Doesn't matter, anyway."

Akari shook her head at this. She tightened her fingers into a fist and fought subconsciously over what to say. All in all, Chinatsu had come to Akari for help seemingly a dozen times over this, including the request through text message to walk to school together this morning. She was here for a reason, the self-proclaimed protagonist concluded — she may as well see it through to the end. Additionally, only two days remained before the official beginning of summer break. Time was speedily running out, yet so much remained unsettled.

 _"No matter how bad it gets, I have to keep the Amusement Club together!"_

"Look, Akari-chan," Chinatsu interjected upon the redhead's thoughts, having taken notice of her focused persona. "I really appreciate all your help. You've been a great friend." She paused before continuing. The target of her gratitude prepared to speak up, because she wasn't having any of this. It sounded to Akari like Chinatsu had given up; like this was her resignation speech. "But I've learned that I don't have a choice in what Yui-senpai thinks—"

"No!" The Akaza child skipped a step ahead of her classmate and stared back at her. "You have to try," she spoke with confidence. Chinatsu halted, not just dazed by Akari's exuberance but also conflicted by the girl's determination.

"But—"

"Try this," the redhead cut her off a second time. "Find Yui-chan before class this morning. If you catch her alone, ask if you can come over after school. That way you'll be guaranteed private time, no matter how uncomfortable the club meeting is!"

The pink-headed schoolgirl pondered momentarily, eyeing the few wispy clouds in the sky to her right, before accepting her closest friend's advice as a plausible course of action. To save on words, she shared her contentedness with the plan through a sudden hug. The embrace brought unintended results to Akari, who struggled to keep her heart from punching a hole in her chest. Nonetheless, she returned the loving and arguably platonic gesture, unable to refrain from relishing each of Chinatsu's breaths upon her neck and every square inch of contact area between their bodies.

* * *

Later on, past the final bell of the school day but before the typical club congregation time, and long after Chinatsu had successfully searched out her senpai and accepted a cunningly clandestine invitation to the latter's home that evening, Kyouko exited the student council room. She had been the only person in the room for the flash of time she was there, and had only stuck around just long enough to stash a special gift and a note in a place where only a girl with red-violet hair would think to look. Waypoint objective accomplished, the blonde set off for the former tea ceremony club room.

Unbeknownst to Kyouko, her dearest friend Yui had turned a corner some distance away and witnessed the extrusion. Yui thought nothing of it of course; being close friends as the two groups are, somebody was bound to pay a visit to the other's room almost daily. Perhaps Ayano had summoned Kyouko to hand in a paper, or to finish _any_ of the ordinary tasks the otaku always lazily ignored.

No, the surprising portion was indeed what she would see next: the arrival of Ayano and Chitose from a different branch of hallway up ahead. Black bangs bounced a time or two as their owner performed a double take, confirming that she was witnessing reality. Absurdity peaked when she watched the duo slide the council room door aside and enter a dark room, clearly unoccupied beforehand.

"What was Kyouko doing in there?" Yui whispered to nobody. Her mysterious friend was already out of sight and likely out of the building, so calling out to her was not an option. The dark-headed girl's timing was immaculate; as she carried on her own path and walked past the still open door, Ayano was turning back to close it. The vice president made eye contact, so Yui smiled kindly and cleared her throat to prepare for communication. Ayano rebated the gesture with a friendly wave and verbal greeting.

"Funami-san, it's good to see you!"

Yui remembered that Ayano was one of few whom she didn't talk to on the day of her return from absence, and that this was the first time they would speak in nearly a week.

"Likewise. It's good to be back to a normal routine." _"...Well, somewhat normal."_ the recovered girl added mentally. Ayano proceeded to ask how she was feeling, compliment her rapid healing, and repeat the expression of gladness to seeing her return to school. Yui responded accordingly to all points; an ordinary conversation.

"So, I guess you must be headed to the tea club room?"

"Mhm. And it looks like you guys are the first here," the sly Yui supplemented for her own devices.

"Yup. As always," Chitose chuckled at the expense of her fellow council members from the younger class. Ayano very nearly butted in for an unrelated remark about Kyouko, but she was too late.

"Well, I'll see you later," Yui bid her goodbye.

"Have fun!" Chitose dismissed, and Ayano slumped.

The latch of the entryway snapped ajar by her hand's command and Yui exited the building. What she entered was an unexpectedly comforting climate, still warm like summer, but not dreadful. The ambience of birds and wind amongst the foliage provided a gateway to clear thoughts.

"Kyouko must be spending a lot of time around Ayano lately."

That deduction was hard to miss. The reason why, which the ever-thoughtful girl was on the brink of realising, was perhaps equally obvious. "She's really the only person for Kyouko to fall back on, at a time like this..." Yui grumbled, the tone of her ensuing sigh a stark contrast to the avian songs in her surroundings.

Who could Yui fall back on, if not Kyouko? Akari was great for moral encouragement, but in terms of emotional support — especially for a relationship issue — she was near clueless. Even Chinatsu, her _girlfriend_ , was nothing similar to the type of friend she had in Kyouko.

Draping tree limbs parted and a concentrated ray of sunshine lit the path. Yui felt its warmth beat onto her skin knowing the air itself was cool enough to keep her from sweating, and analogised the misleading heat to a particular memory: The sequence of kisses which instigated she and Chinatsu's relationship had been pleasurable, but void of any pertinent emotional value. Despite accepting the girl as her partner, the two hadn't shared any enlightening common interests, nor had they ever sincerely related on an important topic. The truth was that Chinatsu, even in transition to their semi-official courtship, still behaved like the lovestruck kouhai she had always been, viewing Yui as some sort of fairytale knight. Upon serious speculation, Yui couldn't picture that ever developing into the unparalleled closeness she shared with Kyouko. It didn't feel natural.

Introspection truly was her only crutch without the blonde around. The journey to the club room was nearing its conclusion, and the pathway her thoughts travelled would soon follow. Yui was led to her memory bank and the first notable thing it recorded that morning: her plans with Chinatsu. The goal was to disperse from the Amusement Club around the usual time, go their separate ways, and then meet at Yui's apartment. The pink-head had requested it remain a secret, like another attempt at a date.

Yui combined all the thoughts swirling around her head and finalised her plans. She knew what she wanted to do; the only question now was how best to do it.

* * *

 _ **Moments earlier...**_

Kyouko unlocked the club room and entered alone. Being the first member to arrive would grant her the benefit of some solitary meditation time, though the oven-like insulation of the standalone building was no solemn setting. She slid apart the patio doors and then settled at the table, her back to the wall. This let the view of the pond and the calming breeze flowing in the doorway be her window to tranquility. The artist retrieved some supplies from her bag and proceeded studious work on her newest book in preparation for the upcoming summertime convention.

Shortly afterward, chatting voices down the path cut through the cicada sound. The noise faded in steadily until the younger half of the Amusement Club finally arrived. Chinatsu and Akari shared simplistic greetings with the blonde, then seated themselves.

"So, Kyouko-chan, is that a new story you're working on?"

 _"Obviously..."_ Kyouko thought to herself rather cynically, now having been torn from her personal relaxation time. She forced herself to take a deep breath and reset her mind, seeing that Akari of all people was deserving of a fair and polite response. "Yeah. I realized that Comuket is coming up, yet I'd hardly even started," the group's default leader admitted.

"Haha! Sounds like Kyouko-chan," Akari jested, her light-hearted attitude mirroring the backdrop of nature behind her. "Do you want some help?"

Upon the breath of this question, Chinatsu faced away from the outdoor view and back towards her friends for the first time since she sat down. Her expression remained neutral despite her contempt towards the redhead for implicating her in the offer. Thankfully for her, Kyouko had no willingness to accept assistance.

"No, thanks. I didn't bring much to work on, anyway." Her blue eyes sunk back down to the pages immediately, emphasising the point: on this occasion, Kyouko would be perfectly content working solo. Akari accepted, though as she hadn't brought any homework or reading material, the protagonist could do nothing but sit silently without preoccupation. The idle awkwardness quickly spread to Chinatsu, who refused to live with it for long.

"I'll go make some tea."

"Good idea!" Akari clasped her hands together and smiled thankfully.

The pink-head desired to simply step away more than anything. She wasn't angry, nor quite as gloomy as the day before, but still held zero interest in spending time at the club room, with or without Kyouko. Yui (and her most treasured memory _with_ Yui, which conveniently occurred in the same place) was the only thing on her mind, so any time gone without her presence felt wasted to Chinatsu.

It wasn't long before the center of her daydreams would arrive, fulfilling the pseudo-club's attendance quota for only the second time all week. As Yui entered the main space of the room, her girlfriend followed and distributed the fresh tea to her companions. Showing no signs of effect from Yui's arrival, Kyouko continued to scribble and shade with deep, calm indulgence upon her papers which had naturally spread out across the table.

"Kyouko-senpai... maybe you could clean up your mess a little so we can use the table, too." The underclassman's complaint was valid if not a bit petty. Kyouko lethargically slapped her hand atop a thin stack of pages and slid them with her palm to her quadrant of the furniture.

Chinatsu had let out an example of her attitude as of late, unhindered by the other two members who couldn't bring themselves to call her out on it. Yui felt submerged in guilt again, as if every microscopic conflict and grievance was her responsibility to settle.

"Oi, Kyouko. Did you want any help?"

"No," the response came immediately with a light sigh; "I'm good." Her tone itself breathed an air of annoyance which Yui picked up on.

"We already offered," Akari explained with a somewhat forced smile.

"I see," the calmest of the group hesitated. "So... that's for summer Comuket?"

"Yeah, of course," the artist confirmed placidly.

"Hm," Yui ended, out of words to say. Chinatsu sipped tea nonchalantly. Ten seconds of silence swiftly became thirty, then a minute, and then several minutes. Finally Kyouko's work reached a natural stopping point, so she chose to pack up her utensils and papers. Stirred by her action, the remaining percentage of club members began their departing rituals as well. Less than five minutes after assembling in full, the unspoken ruling to adjourn had become unanimous.

Four girls equably embarked in four distinct directions. Much alike the scenario a day before, few goodbyes were voiced and no progressions were made toward what the club would classify as 'normal'. Bearing in mind the evening ahead of her, Yui cradled the heaviest amount of stress during the otherwise ordinary trip home. The clarity of her route paved the way for brief meditation over it, but only until her phone alerted her about a new message. Coming from Chinatsu, of course, it collapsed all the nerves and anxiety of the situation back on top of her at once.

 _~"See you soon, okay?"~_

 **...**

* * *

 **...**

At roughly the same time a great distance back, Ayano was in the conclusive phase of her student council duties. The rotation of responsibilities had landed her the task of locking up the room. This being the second of two consecutive easy days on the job, her team members had all checked out moments before — Chitose and the president included. Lonesome Ayano flicked the light switch down and reached for the door handle, halting when a subconscious perception suddenly occurred to her. She leered at the small refrigerator.

 _"Toshinou Kyouko said she would buy me a pudding cup today..."_

Instinctive action led her to the appliance where she whipped the door open in a near frenzy. Therein lay the semi-expected treat with a small slip of paper attached to the lid. Clearly, Ayano deduced, nobody had found a need to open the fridge all afternoon, otherwise the gift would have been long devoured by an unrightful owner.

The purple-headed girl relaxed her expression to a flattered smile and captured the item in hand. The school was nearly empty and she had nowhere to be in a hurry, so why not sit down and enjoy the peace? Before the sweet flavor could enlighten her taste buds, though, she checked the accompanying note.

 _~"Ayanooo! Consider this pudding an invitation. Come find me tomorrow after school, and I'll give you something even sweeter..."~_ Its font was bubbly and surrounded by tiny hearts, and there was no signature, despite how obvious the identity of the writer was. The skin of Ayano's cheeks fired into maximum color. Never before had she felt so exposed.

"To- Toshinou Kyouko! This could have been really scandalous!"

A few minutes of regulated breathing calmed her down enough to be sure that nobody was around, and the secret was still safe. Finally, Ayano opened the snack itself and enjoyed a taste exponentially better than usual. She kicked her feet to and fro beneath the table as the concord between her senses and her imagination drove her straight to fantastic bliss.

* * *

 _ **To be continued...**_


	10. Rebound

Classical composition filled the temperate air, violin melodies swaying like the gentle warm breeze about the trees beyond the window. Tiny pockets of steam billowed away from the teacup on the coffee table, resting next to the encyclopedia-sized stack of lewd manga. Akaza Akane reached for another book, looking her usual smiling, peaceful self even with the white panties on her head. Akane was not alone, though she was the only human in the house; Akari's likeness decorated the cover of the body pillow seated snugly against her arm and shoulder.

 _Click._

The living, breathing version of Akari opened the front door. She peppered light footsteps upon the entryway and disrobed her shoes, then set course for the main space of the home. Her older sister's mind cracked like shattering glass with each approaching noise, but she was able to stash the goods behind some furniture in time.

"Akari, you're home early~" The declaration was followed up by a slurp of tea, as if to cover any nervousness her tone revealed. Akari looked toward the sofa, surprised.

"Onee-chan! I could say the same to you."

"How was your day?" Akane kept her cool with a warm smile. Reacting to the question, the younger sibling glanced aside and rubbed her temple.

"Eh, I don't know really..."

"Is everything all right?" The supporting elder sister tilted her head.

"No, everything's fine! Just kinda tiring, is all."

Normally Akane would gather personal information to give specific advice on an apparent issue, but the pillow hidden by the arm of her current seat was threatening to tumble into view. Helping her beloved little sister could come later.

"Just remember, tomorrow is your last day before summer break! No worries then, right?"

"Yeah," Akari smiled, thankfully. "I have a headache though, so I'm going to relax upstairs for a while."

"Let me know if you need anything," the youthful redhead heard as she stepped onto the staircase. Mental assessment of the reasons behind her exhaustion had already begun, distracting Akari from the barely audible thumping sound playing behind her. She carried on to reach her bedroom and rolled straight onto her bed.

"Today's club meeting was a disaster..." she stated correctly. Even if none of the tension, the discomfort, or the drama in the days leading up to it were a factor, it was still a failure; four friends sitting in a quiet room doing pretty much nothing for five minutes was wrong, simply on a base social level. "At least Chinatsu-chan will get to talk to Yui-chan..."

She considered the plausibility of Chinatsu's suspicions about Kyouko and Yui for the hundredth time, adding now the additional evidence from their tense after school gatherings. It was crazy, both in how spontaneous and conspirative it sounded, and how damaging it could be to their friend group if true.

 _"No, there's no way,"_ Akari thought irresolutely. _"Yui-chan wouldn't do that..."_ The redhead caught herself in hypocrisy with the last part, remembering how she and Chinatsu had engaged one another in a make out session a few days ago. Her cheeks warmed to match her hair color at the recollection of it.

A flurry of ideas overwhelmed the girl at once, ranging from those warm and fluttering memories to gut-wrenching prospective fantasies of conflict between the Amusement Club's members. Akari tried to literally shake the swimming thoughts from her head. She hopped to her feet and skipped toward the wardrobe to gather a change of clothes as a diverting activity. On her way across the room, she snatched up her cell phone from the desktop and typed the most honest words she could think to send Chinatsu.

 _~"Good luck."~_

 **...**

* * *

 **...**

Casually clothed Chinatsu trotted along a steaming sidewalk. Energy spent in preparation for this outing was nowhere near the hour plus of prettying up she had done before their first date. Time constraints were a factor this time, though above all Chinatsu had never considered this a _date_ from the start, and had only labeled it as such so that Yui wouldn't think it unusual. Regardless, she had by no means slouched on her appearance either. Her denim shorts were both stylish and comfortable in the not hideously so, but still hot climate.

The lonesome pink-head multitasked walking a straight line and padding her thumb against her phone's lock button to unearth Akari's comment. The simple encouragement came expectedly to Chinatsu, bearing in mind that her friend had offered more than once to tag along. She had confided in herself and turned down Akari's accompaniment on each occasion.

Only the redhead could provide guaranteed comfort for her, as things stood. When Chinatsu's subconscious swam towards that comfort at every opportunity, it was a fight against her senses to go alone. She did warily recognize one part of her reasoning — the one which she and Akari had imprisoned in the back of their minds the same night it happened. Chinatsu chased the memory of their recent _practice_ session out of her thoughts and mentally scoffed at her closest friend for inadvertently bringing it back to her attention, as if Akari was at fault for the whole scenario.

The bottom line, as the girl couldn't help but remind herself during the final few blocks of her trip, was that she wanted to be with Yui. Lingering suspicions regarding Kyouko or her dense, clouded feelings toward Akari were not yet enough to change that overbearing fact.

Yui, meanwhile, set tea at the table: two cups, filled near the brim, opposite one another. She plopped to the floor behind one of them and checked the clock. Chinatsu's expected arrival window had begun a few minutes ago.

 _"Maybe I should cook something,"_ the solitary girl pondered. Neither the time of day nor the setting of their supposed date deemed it appropriate, however, so Yui waited in silence. _"Maybe I'm over-preparing,"_ she then proposed, eyeing the fresh iced beverage before her. It would seem her gut knew more intimately than her brain how the looming conversation best be handled, resulting in a traditionally calm yet perplexed Funami Yui.

In the end, she committed to following those instincts in the case of any doubtful moments. _"Just trust what your gut says and be honest. This will make things better for all of us._

 _"Better for all of us..."_ The final quarter of her declaration replayed itself like a skipping CD before letting her thoughts move on. Her resolution cemented itself just in time for the doorbell.

The subsequent welcoming scene was recorded into memory in a blur as the atmospheric tension of the date manifested inside Yui's apartment. Beats steadied into an upbeat rhythm within Chinatsu's chest as she sat at the table, her girlfriend mirroring the motion. Mere seconds after a brief "hello," the bold kouhai wasted no time in addressing the subject of this meetup.

"I've been meaning to ask what happened last weekend."

The recipient of the statement hesitated out of confusion and flinched in surprise at the same time. Rather than weigh the doubts over what Chinatsu was specifically asking, she impulsively rebuffed with her natural reaction.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean before you caught a cold. Before our date..." The younger girl trailed off. Under the table her palm brushed against her pocket, within which was her cell phone, which subliminally reminded her of Akari, which in turn restored her confidence — all in the span of time when Yui was too nervous to respond. "...When Kyouko-senpai stayed over."

Minutes ago Yui had resolved to trust her gut, but she hadn't expected it to fidget into an intricate knot so abruptly. The standard, peaceful hum of a flowing air vent nearby became amplified to a roar by the relative silence in the household. This only lasted a sole second, though, as Chinatsu digressed:

"When I came over in the morning, she was gone, but her pyjamas were here..."

Yui felt stunned. The mention of Kyouko's dirtied, left behind clothes drew vivid recollections of the night they had shared. Each passing word paralyzed her more and more deeply.

"...Her ribbon, too," Chinatsu finished. Her girlfriend maintained an unaffected persona but internally, for the next two or three seconds, her thoughts were wild. She jumped to conclusions about how much Chinatsu knew, or what she could infer from facts. Yui pursued a satisfactory explanation in her mind but really, she had none. Kyouko had changed outfits that night under the promise that Yui would wash the tomato pyjamas, and she had left some things behind in the morning because Yui had rushed her away, anticipating Chinatsu's early arrival. How could she justify the blonde forgetting her most identifying accessory _and_ leaving early on a Saturday as _normal_?

"And when I brought it up to you, you sort of dodged my question..." The pink-head held an expression of expectancy, like a patient waiting for the doctor to read them a test result.

"Yeah, Kyouko left pretty early," Yui clarified with no preparation. "And of course she forgot some stuff," she lifted her hand and shut her eyelids to display a false sense of exasperation over her blonde friend's behaviour. "I guess she had somewhere to be, or a doujin to work on or something," Yui continued, ending the exposition inconclusively. Nonetheless, she had just delivered a one hundred percent improvised outright lie, and her still current girlfriend seemed at least acutely satisfied with the answer. The aforementioned shuffled a bit, her pupils darting between edges of the table below as she reanalyzed the explanation.

"Sorry if I wasn't very clear with you," continued Yui down the same stream of spontaneity, "but I was a little slow waking up that day because of the cold." A beat passed in limbo as she tracked Chinatsu's mannerisms, hoping for an inclination towards buying the cover story. _"Too late to turn back now..."_

Reflexive instincts twisted up Yui's insides as punishment for lying to a wholly innocent person. Omitting the truth was her impromptu method of sparing Chinatsu's pride, as well as preventing a bloodlust rage against Kyouko; her plan may not suffice to save their friend group, but it was the best option Yui found in haste. It sure beat retelling all the steamy details, in any case.

Beyond the obvious, visible uncertainty, Chinatsu was greeting a strange emotion in her subconscious. Before applying any effort into understanding it she first shared her thoughts aloud.

"So, Kyouko-senpai doesn't know about our date..?"

Yui submitted objectively, "No, of course not. She doesn't know anything about us."

"Hmph..." The pink-head sighed lightly and bit at the inner part of her bottom lip. Her girlfriend's tone had been strong, and the resolute eye contact during her last sentence had managed to assure the younger girl of her truthfulness. Chinatsu believed Yui, so she wanted to feel relieved — but why did the same stress still linger on her shoulders? The darker-haired girl noted the anxiety and interpreted it as something like remorse.

"You know, Kyouko was—" she let the start of a statement leak out before truly thinking about it. "...I think we were all pretty down after what happened Monday." Yui referred to Chinatsu and Kyouko's squabble and disagreement in this very room. Her partner drooped in an expectable manner, having been taken back to the gloomy time she spent walking in the rain afterwards.

Yui felt the pain in that reaction, too. "Sorry about that. I know I didn't handle it as well as I should have," the primary cause of which was her illness, though there was more to the story Chinatsu didn't know about. All the more reason to apologize.

"No, don't be!" The yandere girl livened up to deny that apology. "I knew how sick you were. It's not your fault..."

Following her gut again, Yui advised, "I wasn't trying to guilt trip you. I only brought it up because, well... It would be nice to have the Amusement Club back to normal."

 _Guilt_. Was that the feeling chopping into Chinatsu's comfort? Her mind, in trying to logically process its own emotions, circled over the word again and again like a vulture. If Yui-senpai was to be believed, then all the kouhai's suspicions would be blown away as effortlessly as a leaf in an autumn wind. Excessive paranoia would persist as the sole source behind all her venting to Akari, and her extra hostile treatment of Kyouko the past four days.

 _"Did I really make that much out of nothing?"_

She refrained from dwelling on it for long. The evidence could be reassessed any time, and her head was spinning from the idea that she had not only treated the obnoxious blonde unfairly, but felt bad about it too. None of it seemed right, so Chinatsu moved the conversation onward to what she knew would give her a concrete solution, for better or for worse.

"Does 'back to normal' include us... together?"

Yui downed a thick gulp of oxygen before accepting the change of subject —

"I've thought a lot about it," she began, but then hesitated for longer than she wanted to. Chinatsu felt the blood draining from her fingertips as she wobbled unnoticeably like a skyscraper in the wind. "What I really want to say is... I don't think of you in that way." The upperclassman revealed, holding her gaze down for an extra second to gauge her own acceptance of the confession before looking at Chinatsu's.

Yui pined for relief, having finally shared the honest bottom line. After being thrown off track earlier by the pink-head's (correct) suspicions, however, she felt no displacement of the weight on her shoulders. Potential dissolution of her remorse would rely entirely on Chinatsu's reaction. So, Yui lifted her head and locked eyes with the girl. She met only blankness.

"In what way?" Chinatsu delayed the inevitable let down. During the abeyant seconds she was rigid, in terms of both physical stature and emotional denial. "...As a girlfriend?"

"Right." Yui said simply and hoped it was clear enough. The pair locked eyes again; Yui saw her brown circles reflected in the moisture building at the base of Chinatsu's eyelids. "Last week in the club room, when we kissed... I think I just acted out of surprise. Like I said, I really only see you as a friend..."

"I see," the younger girl squeaked out weakly. Desperately, Yui bit the inside of her cheek. She wanted to apologise solely on the grounds that she felt sorry for Chinatsu's unrequited affection, but found no right way to verbalize it.

An eternity of a minute sluggishly rolled by in unforgiving wordlessness. Chinatsu watched her beloved senpai drift away endlessly; the table separating them elongated in her imagination until her crush was nothing but a tiny distant speck. When she reopened her eyes after the protracted blink Yui was obviously still right in front of her, though emotionally they seemed an immeasurable distance apart. Chinatsu took a deep breath and dodged her now-ex-girlfriend's tender, sincere stare. "I guess that's it then," Cyan eyes fell in acceptance, tears still poised to fall.

The calmly droning air conditioner overtook the ambience again as the pink-haired girl pressed her knuckles onto the floor to stand. Naturally her body pulled like a magnet to the exit, wanting freedom from the bubble of sadness Yui had ensnared her in.

"I'll see you later," declared Chinatsu. She stepped away.

"...Take care." The homeowner stated finally after some surprised latency. Before she knew it, the door latched and she was alone with two untouched cups of tea.

Chinatsu followed the unstoppable path her feet chose rather than willingly walking. Her train of thought had been derailed by the unraveling emotions, so her limbs carried her on autopilot to the nearest place which could provide total security. She arrived at her destination in a flash.

 **...**

* * *

 **...**

Nothing but peace and the soft sound of crumpling bedsheets filled the heated air above her mattress. Akaza Akane rolled around with passion alongside a body pillow clad in Nanamori middle school uniform. The original owner of the clothing was two closed doors apart, free there from the borderline lewd fantasies being acted out upon the defenseless bedding.

 _Ding dong._

The door chime sliced the dense, dark air in the teenager's bedroom and snapped her from fantasyland to acute attention.

"I'll get it," Akane heard her little sister shout from the hallway as her heartbeat leveled off. She silently praised Akari's quick response and waited with practiced patience.

The youngest of the family tiptoed down the stairs in moderate haste, hand-combing her bangs into position in the meantime. Her own pillow had disheveled her hair a bit over the last lazy hour or so, and assuming the identity of their visitor gave her every reason to look presentable. That presumption would prove correct as she opened the door.

"Chinatsu-chan, come in!"

The arriving girl did as asked at a steady pace, removing her stylish sandals as swiftly as they were designed to be and then trailing Akari further into the house. The redhead invested little time into assessing or questioning her friend right away; she knew the immediate topic best be discussed in private, so they set course for her bedroom, despite the absence of anyone in the home other than Akane.

"Try to be quiet... Onee-chan is taking a nap," Chinatsu was informed as the pair topped the staircase. The alluded sibling heard this from behind her door, and it forced her to cope with the shame of having lied to Akari, even over something as insignificant as a nap. Simultaneously, she flattened her lips in disappointment from having her _private time_ interrupted by a house guest, marking the second unpredictable disturbance on what apparently was not her lucky day. Akane began packing her collection of inappropriate belongings back into the closet quietly, and then prepared a stealthy mentality for the ensuing eavesdropping she would have to perform — for Akari's benefit, of course!

"So, how did it go?" was the only tidbit of conversation Akane could gather before a second door barred the sound waves. She would sneak out to the hallway after a few minutes of settling in — once she was certain the young friends wouldn't be heading downstairs for anything — and reach listening range again.

Meanwhile, Chinatsu slinked backwards and leaned against the inside of Akari's just-closed bedroom door. She dropped her line of sight to the ground, her entire body slumping so that she was barely withstanding gravity, and sighed out a small portion of the frustration which had accumulated during her walk. Her supportive best friend's lips bent down on one end to signify prophetic concern.

"I'm single now."

Akari widened her mouth impulsively but, finding nothing to say, shimmied it closed soon after. Chinatsu leered at the top of her feet and diffidently fidgeted one of her hands in and out of a fist. Akari picked up on this sign of dependence and flew in for a comforting hug.

The recipient tensed up at first, mildly perturbed by such abrupt physical contact. By the passing of a millisecond, though, she felt tension pouring like a waterfall out of her upper body. Her forehead fell on the redheaded girl's shoulder. She bit her tongue to retract the tears that had dangled threateningly this entire time. Akari seemingly sensed this somehow without seeing it, embracing her even tighter.

As if the squeeze around her torso forced it, the pink-headed schoolgirl released all the remaining breath from her lungs and felt the muscles in her upper body relax. Akari literally hugged the stress out of her, even mentally. Chinatsu unhinged the tethers of lassitude and finally let out the cry she had been stifling since Yui dumped her.

Rather, she tried to — but no drops would shed from her eyes, nor would any wail escape her lungs. Surprise overtook the girl when, contrary to what her mind had prepared her for, no crying came at all. Opposed to the despair and helplessness of a few moments ago she now only felt comfort, warmth, and soft breath flowing onto her shoulder. She realized at once how long and how unfalteringly Akari had been holding her. In a display of gratitude, she used her previously limp and still arms to hug the redhead back.

Time spared a few of its uncountable minutes for the classmates to enjoy the comfort. Eventually Akari would pull away for the sake of seeing her friend's face, with the underlying hope that it would show no sadness. It didn't. Chinatsu's eyes were a little surprised by the breakaway, but her mouth was smiling.

Akari instantly knew her own lips were doing the same. She then felt herself reach forward and recognized Chinatsu's fingers being held by her own. Next in the chain of sensory information, she watched the pink-head's smile twist open to match the same surprised expression her eyes had made — but why? Akari figured it out quickly: to top off the list of half-conscious actions, she had begun leaning forward, and fast. Time halted once more when the protagonist turned her ankle, absorbing her momentum and freezing herself just short of Chinatsu's lips.

The would-be victim of the spontaneous attack freed one hand and pushed Akari's chest away. Via a gentle shove the redhead was guided backwards in a one-way dance all the way to her bed. The edge of the mattress met the back of her knees, forcing them to bend, and this coupled with gravity pulled her down to sit on the piece of furniture. After the danger of falling over was subsided, she tilted her head upwards to face Chinatsu again.

What she saw was an unfortunately familiar blankness. The hand which led Akari to this position smoothly slid up high to the girl's jawline, the thumb swiping across her cheek as cerulean eyes sparkled and narrowed a few millimeters. Whereas Akari had lovingly clasped her hands around Chinatsu's, the latter's return gesture was rough and controlling. While Akari's impulsive lean-in had been steady, the now arriving kiss from Chinatsu was sudden and straightforward. The seated girl compared it to multiple instances of the yandere's asserted dominance in the past and found more similarities than she was comfortable with.

"—Chinatsu-chan!" she gasped for breath, skidding further onto the bed and escaping the lip lock which had only lasted a second or two. Chinatsu ceased all contact for a moment, but didn't back away from her leaned over position.

"You started this, Akari-chan..." she rebutted factually but not reassuringly. The scene repeated itself; another kiss came to Akari in the same manner.

Thanks to the recent practice session Akari knew how to discern kind, mutual touches from selfish, almost _desperate_ acts like Chinatsu was unleashing now. The protagonist conjured up a revelation: she had become a lightning rod for her best friend's frustrations, unleashing themselves in the form of aggressive intimacy. She was being used to vent. This awareness made Akari feel empty, and she instantly grew tired of it.

Chinatsu retreated briefly from her lip-parting assault and in a hazy state of mind flexed one knee up onto the mattress, beginning a movement to ultimately emplace herself in Akari's lap. The recipient was having none of it, however; in a climactic fit of frustration with these types of encounters, Akari swiped the domineering hand from her face and crawled aside, dodging Chinatsu's second leg and escaping the cornered disposition. Her evasive move spun Chinatsu forcefully, landing her in Akari's previous position. Partway through standing the redhead effectively tripped over herself and stumbled for several steps, eventually catching the back of her desk chair in order to stay on her feet. This sent the chair crashing into the desk which then thumped against the wall, causing a reasonably loud rumble to reverberate around the room. Akari was too focused on conveying her feelings to worry about the noise.

"I know, but..." she admitted to Chinatsu's earlier accusation and then paused. Her mind perused a folder full of words and picked out the most pertinent ones:

"You can't keep using me like this." The sentence pierced the air and its deliverer stood stoically, as if refusing to doubt herself any longer.

Every feature on the face framed in pink contorted into a handful of positions to convey a dozen different emotions, most of them on the scale between irritation and contempt. She let her expression settle on _focused_ , her brow angled accusatorially.

"So what, I can't kiss you?"

"Yes!" Akari affirmed. "Just not... like that."

"You're to blame here too, Akari." Chinatsu's expression promised some sincerity as the duo locked eyes. "It's not exactly easy to resist sometimes..."

Blood rushed to Akari's cheeks first from flattery, then even more strongly from anger. She had tolerated far too much toying with her emotions.

"Just tell me how you feel!" The redhead demanded.

Her classmate presented a wide-eyed and blank-mouthed stare before, during, and after the request. Ticks of the clock proceeded predictably, although Chinatsu's flat crease of a mouth showed no signals of moving.

Suddenly, Akari jolted as her older sister jarred open the door.

"Is everything alright?" Akane prodded calmly but with the same whipping pace as her entry into the room. "I heard a loud bang."

"Onee-chan!" The younger sibling exclaimed, preparing next to blurt out that everything was fine. Chinatsu interrupted first with no latency.

"Actually, I was just leaving."

The pink-head stood and stepped, staring at the floor throughout a second tumultuous exit on the day. She strutted past Akane who surprisedly sidestepped into the bedroom out of her path.

"Chinatsu-chan..." Akari gaped in hopeless bewilderment. Both family members stood rooted to their locations. Shock held Akari's eyesight on the now vacant space of the hallway she could see; meanwhile, Chinatsu continued down the staircase and out of the home.

Akane laid a sorrowful gaze upon her sister as the front door quaked shut. Instigated by the harrowing sound, Akari felt a lonely tear slip down her cheek.


	11. Break

Yui hardly slept at all, not that anyone would have expected her to. Mornings after a restless night were typically handled with groggy disinterest; this one being no exception caused the first half of the school day to fly by quickly and void of memerobility. Just as the conclusion of the final Friday before summer holiday drew near, Yui fully grasped the handholds of awareness and finally felt wide awake. Morning classes, lonely lunchtime, and all but one remaining hour had passed by in a flash.

She had failed to make eye contact with Kyouko all day, despite their sharing of some class periods, and had not so much as seen Akari or Chinatsu. Her route to the next classroom proved fruitful for her desire to reconcile with the blonde; a chance hallway encounter (in roughly the same place as the one a few days before) was timed perfectly with Yui's newfound waking clarity, giving her the confidence to strike up conversation.

"Hey, Kyouko," she greeted casually, gaining the expectedly apathetic attention of her childhood friend.

"Hi, Yui."

"...How are you?" the dark-haired girl chattered. She felt some kind of question necessary to begin an actual conversation, even if it was blank small talk.

Kyouko spent a split second searching for a fitting response. "Ah, I'm... good." A little sincerity was lost from her answer, not because of the hesitation but the fact that her eyes had locked with Yui's amidst it, causing an involuntary reaction of apprehension. This was lost on Yui, though, who drove the banter forward the instant she knew Kyouko was attentive to it.

"Do you plan on going to the club room after class?"

"I do," the blonde said honestly, negating to add that she would only be waiting (and hoping) for Ayano to come sweep her away from there.

"Oh, good." Intent on sharing positive thoughts, Yui coerced a smile onto her own face. "I was hoping to talk with you."

"Okay." Kyouko's back tensed up, straightening her posture. "I'll see you then," her mouth fumbled out more quickly than her mind could process.

"Sounds good. See you soon." Yui resolved their brief but satisfactory discussion.

* * *

Roughly one hour later a bell chimed to signify the end of the day, embarking Yui on her pathway to the disbanded tea club room. Elsewhere, Sugiura Ayano idly observed the Amusement Club's founder departing their shared final class. Her eyes trailed Kyouko out the door, and then she stayed at her desk in pensive thought until Chitose approached.

"Ready to go, Ayano-chan?"

"Ah, y- yeah..." The tsundere perked her head and tried to brush away her wandering thoughts. Chitose would prod into them before she could, poking her own chin with her index finger to assume a curious pose.

"Or might you be thinking of tracking down Toshinou-san?"

Ayano would have exploded in a bright red ball of embarrassment if Chitose hadn't nearly whispered the question, or if anyone else was in their vicinity. Most students weren't eager to hang around in a classroom now that break had officially begun, gifting the friends a space of relative privacy.

Ayano dipped her head and thoughtlessly mumbled, _"I might be considering it..."_

The supporting half of the duo's glasses lit up from the sparkle in her eye. She was ecstatic to hear a confirmation, yet prepared for it enough to keep her cool.

"Well that's what she wanted you to do, right?"

Bewilderment and slight suspicion painted Ayano's face up until she caught a glimpse of her companion's giddy, up-to-something grin. The vice president compiled some basic links in her mind. Within seconds, she realized: _Chitose found the note yesterday_. A candy red flush poured into her skin, replacing the confused half of her expression with mortification.

"Y- You found the pudding cup, didn't you!?"

"Ufufu, don't worry... You know your secret's safe with me."

Ayano mentally huffed at Kyouko for being so careless; her train of thought immediately reminded her that this was Kyouko she was dealing with, meaning the whole thing was possibly a deliberate attempt to embarrass Ayano for sadistic joy anyway. The purple-headed tsundere scribbled a semiconscious reminder to properly _punish_ her unofficial girlfriend when the opportunity arose, but that drew an unintentionally lewd picture in her head to heat her cheeks even more. By the passage of just a few ticks on the clock Ayano had become flustered and, feeling trapped, decided to scurry past Chitose towards the exit.

"Actually, I have somewhere to be!" She proclaimed, destination unknown.

"Wait, Ayano-chan," Chitose reeled her back with the call. "We have student council duties today." A heel dug into the tile and Ayano staggered to a halt.

A beat later, Chitose gave a nudge to her shoulder while walking past. "Come on," her smile towed the vice president along like a leash. "Let's walk and talk."

Ayano strolled a steady trail beside her compadre but grumbled over what to say. They set course down the hallway for the student council room, traveling via a stream of space which parted the energetic students layered against walls of lockers on either side.

"I don't want to pry too much, but... Is it official?"

"N- No!" Ayano stuttered. "N- Not exactly... I guess you're the first to know." She hoped, anyway.

"I see, I see..." Chitose reached and grasped the frame of her glasses but did not remove them yet. "I'm very happy for you, Ayano-chan!" Her head turned aside and slightly upwards as she applauded her friend. The ensuing eye contact set fire to Ayano's cheeks again.

"Th- Th- There's nothing to be happy about!" She waved her hands in a crossing motion. Chitose produced a warm smile despite the reaction. The delusion-blocking spectacles would remain bridged on her face and her sincerity would strike Ayano, settling the girl.

Whatever was going on entailed Ayano and Kyouko together, and that would typically be overwhelming for Chitose. Thankfully she had made peace with that reality after an exhausting, fantasy-filled evening following her unannounced discovery of Kyouko's love letter. Now the white-haired one was ready for more, poised to assist Ayano in progressing their budding relationship however possible.

"Perhaps you could _make_ something to be happy about," Chitose proposed several steps later. This sent Ayano into a defensive state due to the secrets she and Kyouko had already created. Her eyes locked with the lines on the floor just ahead of her footsteps.

 _"If only she knew..."_ the tsundere told herself, and then began some deep breathing to repel the heated memories for the time being.

"You know what I mean?" the blue-eyed girl prodded. Ayano's absent look provoked her to continue. "Now's your chance to get closer to her!"

 _"Yeah, that's true."_ Ayano thought, but couldn't bring herself to speak it.

"I'm sure she'll be in the tea club room," Chitose led her, as if begging for the violet-headed girl to latch on. It worked somewhat.

"Well, their club hasn't been together much this week... I probably shouldn't bother them—"

"Ayano-chan!" She felt a gust of upturned air from Chitose's sudden rotation, and looked up to find her friend walking backwards a step ahead. "You have to be more involved!" Ayano's biggest supporter glistened with determination.

The object of the encouragement, after slowing to a stop and staring down her own torso for a short while, accepted the resolution.

"You're right." Ayano said with a slight nod. "But, you said it yourself — we have council work."

Chitose grinned with satisfaction and commanded, "Don't worry about that." She turned back in her original direction and the pair resumed walking, flowing through the ever-thinning hallway traffic again. "Just stick around long enough to get some basic stuff done, then I can cover for you~"

"Are you sure!? That'll be a lot of work..." Ayano would have continued, adding in the additional organization requirements for summer break if Chitose hadn't provided an immediate confirmation.

"It's not a problem, I promise."

"Thanks, Chitose..." She reinstated eye contact to share gratitude. _"Okay, then... It's a plan."_

* * *

"Guess I won't have to worry about privacy." Yui announced to the vacant tea club room. She had practiced asking Akari to leave as nicely as possible during the walk out here, apparently unnecessarily. _"Maybe she's with Chinatsu somewhere..."_

Hypothesis correct or not, Yui was alone, and Kyouko not far behind. Yui displayed patience to the otherwise empty building, seating herself at the side of the table nearest the door. She wedged her arm in between the table top and her jaw as she sat stiffly, eyeing the wooden framework of the unopened patio doors.

Her composed abeyance was short-lived. The room's entrance parted with a soft rumble and Yui darted around to face it. She saw Kyouko sliding the door closed and before that was finished, Yui was standing.

"Kyouko, hey..." She shared a smile with the blonde but stumbled on the words a bit, having been startled by her own rash act of getting up for no explicit reason.

Kyouko experienced a minor reaction to the smile; certain stimuli such as the room's tranquility and a happy greeting from her best friend crafted a slight feeling of sereneness in her core. Still, uncertainty from the tensions of the past week would not be denied in her head.

"Ah— hey, Yui." Kyouko returned greetings once her brain had finished processing the visual inputs. Before she could wonder why Yui had stood to greet her, a sentence pierced the warm air.

"I don't think the others are coming," came the mention of their anticipated seclusion. Then, after hesitant seconds: "Can we talk?"

"Uh, sure..." Kyouko accepted facilely, still positioned but a step inside the room. "About what?"

The universe's most open-ended question aided Yui little in opening up the conversation. She was ready to speak regardless: contrary to cliché, where to begin was the easy part in this instance.

"I want to start by apologizing. I- I haven't been a good friend to you lately."

Distant cicadas sang a tune that paralyzed Kyouko. Yui had flinched minutely while getting the words out, but locked a sincere expression aimed directly into her childhood friend's pupils during and after.

She continued, "I have more to be sorry for than you know, but I had to start with being a friend. I've done nothing but drag you into messes for the past week." Yui envisioned herself bashing her head against a wall; she was the half of the relationship who should never have needed to use that line.

"I don't ever want you to think you can't count on me," the raven-haired girl completed. Reiteration of such a long-term promise stunned Kyouko, jabbing directly into the hole in her emotions which had been growing throughout the period of distance from her best friend.

"Yui..." A teardrop welled and Kyouko's face hinted signs of scrunching up in anguish. The urge to cry resisted itself; too many unresolved doubts still lingered to release it all now.

The more mature member of the duo fought the desire to step closer, because she didn't want Kyouko to feel trapped or pressured. Her subconscious self made that decision, as well as the next one to proceed verbalizing.

"I really am sorry, Kyouko. A- After what happened last weekend..." Yui faced the floor beside her and blushed. "Things just got a little confusing. And being knocked out by the cold, I didn't know how to handle any of it..."

"It's okay, Yui~"

Yui was gifted the sight of a glistening blue-eyed, full-faced smile for the first time in many days. "That's all I needed to hear."

The bend of her lips flattened immediately afterwards, however. "Except..." Kyouko struck a genuinely bashful pose and held each of her hands with the other. The crease of her mouth tightened as she paused, second-guessing whatever she had prearranged to say.

"Except?" Yui prodded calmly. Again she subconsciously refused the want to approach Kyouko and stayed several arms' lengths back.

A raging whirlwind of sensations plowed through the blonde-topped head. Her mind was running in overdrive to analyze each distinctive apprehension she felt, and then to piece them together on the puzzle that would become her next line. Kyouko sucked in all the air she could gather from her surroundings and forced the past five days out of her thoughts. This allowed the girl to finally propose the concept she had thought up at the beginning of the week.

"About last weekend," the summertime ambience parted around Kyouko's words. " _At the time_ , I thought..." she waited for her cognition to pick the right wording; "You and I would be... together."

Yui could have blurted out a few distinct responses, but she held steadfast. One thing at a time.

"There is more to it, like I said..."

A flash of Kyouko's growingly confused expression came and went in Yui's field of vision as the dark-headed girl bowed her head again. _"Okay, deep breaths..."_

"This is a little hard to say, but... For a while, Chinatsu-chan and I were... sort of d- dating." Yui slapped her palm onto the back of her neck. "...Secretly," she supplemented rhetorically.

Such a revelation was as far from Kyouko's expectations as anything could be. Inwardly pointed eyebrows and the split between her lips conveyed accurate depictions of shock, disdain and irritation. The typically stoical fragment of the duo reinstated eye contact, and upon seeing this reaction was forced into an impulsive explanation.

"We're not anymore! It really wasn't like that." Yui felt herself sink into the grave she'd been digging.

"Then what was it like!?" The blonde quipped, very discomposedly. Yui had prepared to elaborate regardless.

"Hah~" The girl sighed, and then spoke calmly. "It was a mistake to begin with. I realized we weren't compatible, but even before that... I was honestly going to tell you. I just never got the chance."

Kyouko let her eyelids linger shut while thoughts compiled. She weathered the familiar (though admittedly much more severe than past experiences) sting of jealousy first — not over Chinatsu this time, but Yui. Then came frustration, uniquely so because it was Yui with whom she was frustrated, as well as Chinatsu to a lesser degree. Most emphatically though was the sensation of abandonment, perhaps even bordering on betrayal: knowing that Yui's emotional absence as of late was backed by surreptitious _dates_ served to confirm Kyouko's insecurities rather than assuage them.

"...That explains a lot," Kyouko breathed with a let down slump of her upper extremities.

"Listen, it was a mistake—" The rarely shaken Yui impeded her own sentence by stepping forward. Inhibitions had finally been overcome and she brought herself toe to toe with Kyouko, resting her fingers on one of the blonde's pensively folded forearms. From Kyouko's perspective, the timing was well off — now was the point when she was least receptive to physical contact.

Around that time, an unsteady hand reached for the door handle just behind Kyouko. However, thrown off even further by the chunk of words she had overheard, Ayano hesitated and listened in concealment.

"...Not only keeping it a secret, but even agreeing to date her in the first place," Yui had continued. "It was a mistake, and now I know why." She finished with resolve, her regret-stained words a mirror to the sorrowful look on her face. The otaku beneath her gaze tensed up.

Yui clenched the hand which held her friend's arm into a loose fist, insisting sincerity behind the succeeding sentence. "You reminded me why."

Kyouko momentarily absorbed all the implications behind her counterpart's declaration. She perceived the emotions leaking from Yui's expression and had to look away to avoid spilling out her own. Presumptions filled in Yui's intentions, and Kyouko could tell where this was going. She also quickly noted her immediate discomfort with the idea, perhaps as a self-preservation tactic by her afflicted mind.

"Yui... h- hold on..." she rambled inconclusively. Her diffidence had no effect on Yui's absolution.

"I felt the same way you did last weekend," the dark-headed girl carried on.

 _"But then you kicked me out to have a secret date after!"_ the conflicted blonde could exclaim only in her head, though the same tone became portrayed by her facial expression soon after.

"Kyouko, please just hear me out..."

Yui foraged through millions of word choices in finding her next sentence proper. She wanted to make clear the feelings she had repressed, the appreciation she had failed to display in the past and the dependencies she had on Kyouko all at once. Yui wanted her carefree, lazy, exhausting, genuine, irreplaceable best friend to know how closely important she was to her life. While these thoughts whizzed through her head, acute signs of impatience in the blue eyes beneath her demanded she spit it out already, so she did in _almost_ the simplest way possible.

"I... want to be with you."

Solidification of her hunch about Yui's feelings struck Kyouko. Her imagination reflexively dove into an alternate universe fantasy: in it, Yui had sprung up this confession nearly a week earlier, when it had been most relevant. In that scenario, Kyouko could only picture herself accepting the proposal with bright eyes and a smile for the future.

However in present reality, the blonde was cross between falling into her childhood friend's arms like a romance cliché or storming out of the room in exasperated agony. A rampage of counterintuitive emotions muddily yielded her thoughts.

"Do you feel the same way?" Yui asked cleanly and concisely.

Deep blue orbs remained pointed at the floor in pondering. Yui's hand waited lightly on the other girl's arm, sidelined in expectation. The target of the query couldn't bring herself to say yes; her affirmative answer would have come quickly if none of the events throughout the week had happened. Now Kyouko's affections were far from cut and dry, and in that moment a major source of her confliction popped into her mind.

"It's not that simple, Yui."

Before she could utter another word, the door creaked open less than a meter away from the pair.

"To—" Ayano unsteadily appeared, as if cued by the inadvertent thought Kyouko had of her. "Toshinou Kyouko..."

Cicada sound faded in through the open door. Ayano held the most puzzled, hopeless look ever, confirming for Kyouko that she had been listening in for some time.

"What are you doing here?" Yui asked in plain words, with the slightest touch of offense in her tone.

Kyouko glanced at Yui with a dull flame igniting in her eyes. This isolated Ayano, who, feeling the psychological tension impact her like a blast of energy, slid the door back to a closed position and dashed away to avoid conflict.

"Ayano, wait!" Kyouko cast out a call to reel the tsundere back, but it was no use. Yellow locks swayed as she rotated towards the exit, poised to follow.

"Kyouko, what are you doing?!"

She stopped midway through the doorway and snapped around to face Yui.

"This is your fault!" the blonde accused angrily. Tears from earlier rebuilt themselves at the base of her eyelids following the words. She turned and leaned to take off a second time; Yui's hindrance then became physical via her hand atop Kyouko's shoulder.

"I want an answer," the black-haired girl decreed. Her tone was grave but needy.

Kyouko felt her internal train wreck culminate as she sat in neutral at the gate, knowing Ayano was moving down the path with pace. Given Yui's dense unawareness of the full situation, Kyouko felt such a timely demand unfair. The blonde's impulse then provided an easy way out of the pressure — an oversimplified and equally unfair response.

"No."

Seemingly instantly, as time had ceased progressing for her, Yui lifted her weakened fingertips. The body beneath them was gone in a flash, leaving Yui behind with nothing but the lonely heat of summer.

* * *

School shoes pounded onto the dirt-dusted trail. For the duration of the five second dead sprint, Kyouko ran faster than ever before. Lush foliage retreated around a corner to reveal Ayano more quickly than expected. The student council vice president had slowed to a lethargic walk and, assuming the identity of her follower, stopped to let her catch up.

Ayano didn't turn to face her until Kyouko fully arrived. Spotty shadows from draping tree limbs played across strands of red-violet; iris of the same hue latched onto the blonde's motions as she knelt to catch her breath.

"What exactly is going on, Toshinou Kyouko?" Her gaze was mellow, her voice patient.

"Don't worry about that~" Kyouko suggested, trying to overcome light gasps enough to smile in the meantime. "I'm glad you found my instructions!"

"But I was clearly interrupting... something." Ayano discarded the mention of Kyouko's letter and focused on the task at hand. Her classmate's aura dimmed a bit.

"It's really nothing." Not only was she dodging the subject, but also failing to accept how attentive Ayano had obviously been.

"K- K- _Kyouko_ ," the purple-headed girl blushed. "I need to know..." Her expression shifted to full seriousness.

"...What was your answer?"

A beat passed and the blonde could only stammer.

"I- I didn't... It was..."

The peaceful atmosphere faded out as Kyouko's vision narrowed in on her supposed rival. Standing stiffly, Ayano's brow curled in hopeless longing; that in addition to the shape of her acutely parted lips drew a look of despair, as if the girl's entire well-being hinged upon the yellow-headed otaku before her. A summation of all doubts was evident in the expression, so Kyouko closed some of the space between them with the goal of wiping that dispirited look off her face, cute it may be.

"...It doesn't matter," Kyouko finalised, and to it Ayano gaped.

"Wh-... Of course it does!"

"Ayano, I... I've loved spending time with you lately. And not _just_ the sexy times," Kyouko deadpanned. Her tsundere lover nearly fainted. "Honestly, today I was ready to ask you that same question..."

One foot skidded behind another; Ayano retreated from her crush's veiled confession. Her head fell under darker, more uniform shade while doing so. The skin on Kyouko's face, meanwhile, continuously reflected glimmers of afternoon sunshine.

The blonde's instinct was to let out everything — not only to fully disclose past events, but explain how they had spiraled her through nearly a week of agony. Her purple-headed classmate really had been the only thing keeping her sane, and she deserved credit for it. But rather than unleash a bundle of emotions all at once, Kyouko bit her tongue and willed away the tears. She wanted not Ayano's pity, but her true feelings.

"I really like you, Ayano." Kyouko readied another, stronger word on the tip of her tongue. Before she could say it, Ayano intervened; she wanted the _whole_ truth.

"What about Yui-san?"

Kyouko paused for a second, but then released a vigorous exclamation.

"...I don't know! I really don't know, okay!?"

Ayano stepped back again from the surprise before steadying herself, in stature but not mentality. Upon considering Kyouko's ambivalence, the vice president's reaction began with a welling of moisture around her desperate eyes.

"Th- That's not good enough!"

Kyouko's voice lowered to a soft whine. "But Ayano... I know how I feel about you!"

The target of the words felt consumed by Kyouko's divided status. Below her nuzzled brow, blazing red cheeks, and desert-dry mouth, Ayano felt the sting of rejection stiffening her joints. The tsundere's heart was in her throat, and she choked on it.

"I- I can't do this..." Violet hair wisped around as she turned to leave.

"Wait, please!" pleaded Kyouko.

"I have to go," Ayano winced defeatedly, showing her back to the blonde. She trundled speedily toward the distant school building bearing no particular destination in mind. Nothing accompanied her but the sparse rain of dejected tears.

 _"I don't want to be your second choice,"_ she whispered to the crystal blue sky once Kyouko was out of earshot.

Kyouko stayed tense until the vice president was far up the path, beyond her scope of vision. All her emotions seemed condensed inside the tight fist she was holding. Frustration piled onto her shoulders; for several minutes she felt tethered to the random stone on the pathway where Ayano had left her.

Eventually, she moved. Anger would keep that fist balled up tautly the entire trip home. Kyouko walked alone, somewhere between slowly and quickly; somewhere between giving up and trying again, her thoughts dragged her into a bottomless hole. After some amount of time, she wallowed into her house and settled in for the first evening of a long and sorrowful summer break.


End file.
